HT Correspondent
DALGAON, Feb 28: In a dramatic display of anger and defiance, thousands of Congress workers and supporters shaved their heads at Kharupetia in Darrang district on Saturday, protesting the party high command’s reported move to allocate the prestigious Dalgaon Assembly constituency to Raijor Dal as part of a possible opposition alliance.
The protest comes even as talks of seat-sharing among opposition parties continue to dominate political circles in Assam.
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Dalgaon has been a traditional stronghold of the Indian National Congress, having been won by the party in three consecutive Assembly elections before the seat slipped to the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). In the last panchayat polls, Congress registered a sweeping victory in the area, capturing both development blocks, all 27 anchalik panchayats, the majority of panchayat member seats and three zilla parishad constituencies.
The only exception was the Shyamtilla-Apariya zilla parishad constituency, where Congress-denied candidate Mayuri Khatun contested on a Raijor Dal ticket and won with the support of Congress workers.
Local leaders and workers expressed strong resentment, stating that Raijor Dal has little organisational presence and negligible public support in Dalgaon. Despite more than a dozen local aspirants submitting applications for the ticket, the party high command is reportedly favouring Azizur Rahman, a leader from distant Lakhimpur.
After an earlier demonstration at Rajiv Bhavan in Guwahati, Saturday’s head-shaving protest in Kharupetia sent a strong message. Senior Congress leaders, workers and supporters issued an ultimatum to the party leadership, warning that if the Dalgaon seat is handed over to Raijor Dal, it would amount to giving a walkover to the sitting AIUDF MLA, Majibur Rahman.
They warned that they would not accept what they termed a “suicidal decision” and threatened that the entire local unit would resign en masse if the seat is allotted to Raijor Dal.
The development has added fresh strain to the already delicate opposition alliance talks ahead of the next Assembly elections.
