GUWAHATI, March 15: Congress MP Abdul Khaleque, who has been denied a ticket in Assam for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, resigned from the party on Friday, although hours later he dropped hints that the decision could be reversed as top leaders of the opposition party scrambled to reach out to him.
State Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, who was named by Khaleque in his resignation letter sent to the party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge as one of the reasons for his decision to quit, rushed to the aggrieved MP’s Guwahati residence.
Emerging from a meeting with Barpeta MP Khaleque, Borah said there will be a “decision tomorrow” on the matter to ensure that the senior leader takes back his resignation.
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“We don’t have many MPs in the Lok Sabha. When due to political and other factors, a sitting MP is denied a party ticket, it is natural to be aggrieved,” he said.
Borah claimed that he had been calling up Khaleque for the last three days but has not been able to connect, though other APCC leaders have been meeting the MP.
“When I learnt about his resignation, I rushed to his house. He has some specific complaints and I have assured him of addressing those. We will take those to the AICC leadership as well.
“I have urged Khaleque not to take any hasty emotional decision. There are other roles besides that of an MP. By tomorrow, we will inform Khaleque and everyone about the decision (on his new role),” the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president said.
The Barpeta MP, briefing reporters after the meeting, said, “I have tendered my resignation but the top leadership is in touch with me. I have specifically complained about APCC president Borah and AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh. I have high regard for Sonia ji. Let us wait till 11 am tomorrow.”
Khaleque, a two-time MLA and one-time MP, was not given the Congress ticket this time, with the party naming its state Seva Dal chief Deep Bayan as its candidate for the Barpeta constituency.
A former journalist, Khaleque said he was attracted to the party by its ideologies and its leading luminaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Moulana Abul Kalam Azad.
In the resignation letter, he claimed that the party has taken a “strange route” in the state, where “people-centric issues have taken a back seat”.
“To safeguard democracy, people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect and oneness. But unfortunately, over a period of time, I feel that the attitude and approach taken by the party’s state president and AICC general secretary in-charge has ruined the prospect of the party in Assam,” he maintained.
While resigning with immediate effect, Khaleque also conveyed his gratitude to senior party leader Sonia Gandhi in the letter.
Reacting to the resignation, state Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora said, “We were in touch with Khaleque ji. While applying for a ticket, he didn’t specify any constituency. Moreover, the feedback about his candidature from the local level was not so positive.”
The spokesperson claimed that the resignation will not impact the Congress candidate’s prospects in Barpeta or Dhubri.
“Still, we hope that Khaleque ji will continue working for the party. He has much to give to the party,” Bora added.
Post delimitation, a large area that was under Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency has been included in adjoining Dhubri.
Congress has fielded its deputy leader in the state assembly, Rakibul Hussain, from Dhubri.
Among other candidates in the fray in Barpeta are Phani Bhusan Choudhury of Asom Gana Parishad, the ruling BJP-led alliance’s nominee, and Manoranjan Talukdar of the CPI(M). Both are sitting MLAs.
The CPI(M) and Congress are part of a 16-party United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA), which was formed to fight the general elections together, but rifts have emerged over seat distribution leading to the partners naming candidates against each other.
The Congress has three MPs in the outgoing Lok Sabha, out of a total of 14 seats from the state. The two other incumbents, Gaurav Gogoi and Pradyut Bordoloi, have again been given party tickets. (PTI)
