Election to two Rajya Sabha seats in Assam on Thursday was marked by high drama, with the Congress suspending its South Karimganj MLA for “violating the party whip”. The ruling BJP-led coalition government fielded Pabitra Margherita (BJP) and Rwngra Narzary (UPPL) for the two seats, while former state Congress president Ripun Bora is seeking re-election as the joint candidate from the Opposition parties’ in the lone seat they are contesting. While voting commenced from 9 am, and ended at 4 pm on Thursday, counting — which was to be held at 5 pm on the same day — was delayed owing to the alleged cross-voting by two Congress candidates. As of 9 pm, the results were yet to be declared. In the 126-member Assam Assembly, the BJP has 63 MLAs, while its coalition partners AGP and UPPL have 9 and 7, respectively. In the Opposition are 27 MLAs from the Congress, 15 from AIUDF and one each from the CPI (M) and the regional Raijor Dal. The Opposition parties had agreed to support Congress’s Bora as the common candidate. However, by Thursday evening, it was evident that the Congress had lost at least two votes. While South Karimganj MLA Siddique Ahmed was suspended for writing ‘ONE’ instead of numeric 1 which led to the cancellation of his vote, another MLA Shashi Kanta Das, who had voiced support for the ruling party in December, openly said he had voted for the BJP candidate. A press statement from the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) said that Siddique had "intentionally" violated the three line whip issued by Wajed Ali Choudhury, chief whip of the party. “This has been confirmed based on finding of AICC Secretary, co-incharge of APCC, Mr. Prithviraj Prabhakar Sathe as well as the designated observer of Congress candidate Mr Ripun Bora RS election. In view of this violation, as a strict disciplinary action, Mr. Siddique Ahmed has been suspended from primary membership of the party with immediate effect” said the statement. Out of the 27 legislators in Congress, one (Raha MLA Das) had openly said he would vote for the BJP candidate. In January, the Congress party had suspended him for “for repeatedly violating party discipline and indulging in anti-party activities”. Ahead of the polls, Opposition parties had accused each other, alleging that there could be cross-voting. Congress had blamed the AIUDF for “selling” five of its MLAs to the BJP, and the AIUDF alleged that there were some internal differences within Congress on Bora’s selection as the candidate. BJP MLA Pijush Hazarika Thursday said that the developments reflected the “lack on unity” among the Opposition. "We are confident of winning both seats," he said.
