Assam: MLA Bharat Chandra Narah quits Congress after wife denied ticket
Mar 25, 2024
Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 25 : Bharat Chandra Narah, the MLA of Nowboicha in Assam's Lakhimpur district, announced his resignation from the Congress with immediate effect after his wife was denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections.
The resignation came after the party denied a ticket to his wife and former MP Ranee Narah for the Lakhimpur parliamentary constituency.
The development comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections starting next month on April 19.
Narah sent his resignation letter to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday evening.
"I do, hereby resign from the Indian National Congress with immediate effect," Narah wrote in the one-line resignation letter sent to Kharge.
Confirming his resignation, Debabrata Saikia, Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Assam, told ANI over the phone, "Yes, we have received his resignation letter."
Earlier, four Congress MLAs extended their support to the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government, while one MLA, Sherman Ali Ahmad, was suspended for "anti-party" activities.
The legislators are Shashi Kanta Das, Siddique Ahmed, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Basanta Das.
These MLAs have not resigned from the Congress party.
Elections in the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies of Assam are scheduled to take place in three stages, with polling days set for April 19, April 26, and May 7.
In the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 7 of the 14 seats in Assam. Both the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) claimed three seats each.
During the 2019 elections, the BJP increased its seat count to 9, while the Congress maintained its three seats, and the AIUDF won a single seat.