Assam Congress has many CM aspirants

Guwahati, Apr 21(UNI) The Congress in Assam fought the just concluded election to the 12th assembly sans any of its leaders being projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate unlike the previous elections.

The decision not to project a Chief Ministerial candidate before the polls has now become a bane for the party with at least five of its senior leaders, barring present Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, lobbying hard for the post in the event the party wins enough seat to form the next government in Assam.

A source in the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) said that the party was confident of forming the next government in the state even if the party managed to win 45 to 50 out of the total 126 seats after the poll results were declared on May 11.

This assessment has triggered off a rat race among APCC senior leaders, including two who were earlier dropped from the ministry by Mr Gogoi. Also in the race is APCC president Bhubaneswar Kalita.

Sensing the problem within the party, Mr Gogoi announced that he was not in the race for the Chief Minister's post and would discharge any responsibility which was entrusted to him by the party high command.

'' Ihave never lobbied nor would I do it this time for any post,'' he said.

Projected as the Chief Minister candidate by the party during 2001 assembly polls, Mr Gogoi was instrumental in ensuring party's landslide victory in the state in two Lok Sabha polls of 1998 and 1999 while regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) was in the power in Dispur.

However, during the just concluded assembly polls, the party refrained from projecting Mr Gogoi as candidate for the Chief Minister's post apparently to neutralise anti-incumbency factor, if any, during polls as well as to keep a section of minority leaders opposed to Mr Gogoi in good humour.

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