In Assam, Congress loses sitting MP Abdul Khalque after ticket denied, faces ally rumblings

Days after he was denied a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, sitting Barpeta MP Abdul Khalque resigned from the Congress on Friday, the latest high-profile exit from the Assam party in recent weeks.

In his resignation letter, Khaleque, who has been part of the Congress for 25 years, blamed the Assam party president (Bhupen Borah) and AICC general secretary in-charge of the state (Jitendra Singh Alwar).

I have decided to severe my ties of 25 years with Congress. I already send my resignation letter to Honourable Congress President Kharge ji. pic.twitter.com/DAROZe4xzD

— Abdul Khaleque (@MPAbdulKhaleque) <a href=«https://twitter.com/MPAbdulKhaleque/status/1768558459501658514?ref_src=» https: class="" rel=«nofollow, noopener» target="_blank">March 15, 2024

“Of late, the party has taken a strange route where people-centric issues have taken a back seat. To safeguard democracy, the 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 have ruined the prospect of the party in Assam,” Khaleque wrote.

So far, in the two lists announced by it for seats across the country, the Congress has only dropped two sitting MPs, Khaleque being one of them, apart from an MP in Kerala. The Congress’s other two MPs from Assam, Gaurav Gogoi and Pardyut Bordoloi, have got tickets, from Jorhat and Nagaon, respectively.

While the Congress fielded Deep Bayan from the Barpeta seat held by Khaleque, the Dhubri constituency that Khaleque was eyeing has gone to Congress Samaguri MLA Rakibul Husain. Khaleque wanted to shift to Dhubri because of change in the demography of the