Guwahati, Mar 13 : In yet another instance of discord within the Opposition Congress apparently coming to the fore ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Wednesday expelled APCC general secretary Suruj Dehingia from the party.
“Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah has expelled Suruj Dehingia, general secretary, APCC, from Indian National Congress with immediate effect,” the APCC order read, without mentioning the cause of expulsion.
According to reports, Dehingia, who had contested the 2021 elections as the Congress candidate from the Mahmara Assembly constituency, decided to switch allegiance to the ruling BJP in the state after he was denied a party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
It may be noted that the central election committee of All India Congress Committee (AICC) had on Tuesday nominated 12 party candidates from Assam, while leaving one seat (Dibrugarh constituency) for its ally and regional party, Assam Jatiya Parishad, which is a constituent of the 16-party United Opposition Forum, Assam.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the state Congress has suffered a series of setbacks, with some key leaders as well as members leaving the party and joining the ruling BJP.
Only recently, former Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) working president and former two-time MLA of Jorhat LAC, Rana Goswami had tendered his resignation from the Opposition party and joined the ruling BJP in the state.
Prior to that, two veteran Congress MLAs – Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Basanta Das – had extended unconditional support to the ruling BJP in the Assam Legislative Assembly.
