12 Congress Leaders Resign in Dholai, Accuse Dhrubojyoti Purkayastha of Ties with BJP MP Parimal Suklabaidya

On 22 October, Tuesday, Dhrubojyoti Purkayastha, the Congress candidate for the upcoming by-elections in Dholai, officially filed his nomination at the Cachar District Administration. However, on the same day, 12 Congress members from the Dholai area resigned from the party, accusing Purkayastha of being a supporter of the BJP.

In a major political development, 12 Congress leaders from Dholai have resigned from the party in protest over the selection of Dhrubojyoti Purkayastha as the candidate for the upcoming by-election. The resignations come amid growing dissatisfaction within the party, with the leaders accusing the Congress of collaborating with the BJP to ensure the ruling party’s victory.

The by-election in Dholai is scheduled for 13 November, and the selection of Purkayastha has sparked internal conflict. The resigning leaders allege that Purkayastha had openly supported BJP’s Parimal Suklabaidya during the 2021 Assembly elections, working against the Congress candidate. They claim that there is an intimate bond between Purkayastha and the BJP, which has left many loyal Congress members disillusioned.

“We stayed with Congress for so long, hoping the party would reform and transition to a new phase. But now, it has lost all its ethics and ideals. This is not the Congress we believed in, and as a protest, we are resigning,” the members said during their announcement. They pointed out that Purkayastha, who opposed the Congress in the last election, is now set to represent the party, raising questions about his allegiance.

The dissenting members further alleged that the District Congress President, Abhijit Paul, and others had deliberately chosen Purkayastha to ensure an easy victory for the BJP in the upcoming by-election. They referred to Purkayastha as a “BJP Marked Candidate,” questioning how such a figure could be entrusted with the Congress ticket.

In a scathing critique, they also mentioned that similar tactics were employed during the MP election, where Surya Kanta Sarkar was selected to help the BJP win. The resigning members accused the Cachar District Congress of being controlled by the BJP, asserting that loyal Congress workers had been sidelined in favour of external influences.

The resigning members placed District Congress President, Abhijit Paul and General Secretary of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, Anowar Hussain at the centre of this controversy, accusing them of betrayal. They demanded the immediate removal of both leaders, warning that the District Congress would face inevitable collapse if these figures remained in power.

The list of resigning leaders includes Subhasish Deb, President of Dholai Youth Congress, Nasim Uddin, General Secretary of the Minority Wing, Abul Hossain Laskar, General Secretary of the Minority Wing, Abdul Rashid Barbhuiya, General Secretary of the Minority Wing, Hari Mohan Kairi, OBC President, Suma Rani Roy, President of Narsinghpur Block Women’s Congress, Amir Hossain Laskar, President of the Narsinghpur Block Minority Wing, Babur Uddin Barbhuiya, Vice President of the Narsinghpur Block Minority Wing, Dilip Kumar Dubi, former AP member, Nirmal Barman, Secretary of Dholai Youth Congress, Imran Hussain, General Secretary of Dholai Youth Congress, and Selim Uddin, General Secretary of the Narsinghpur Block Minority Wing.

The upcoming by-elections in Dholai have seen several twists and turns within the region’s political landscape. Not long ago, an intraparty conflict within the BJP led to the resignation of Amiya Kanti Das along with 500 others, who labelled BJP’s candidate, Nihar Ranjan Das, as Parimal Suklabaidya’s puppet and hinted at Das’s potential independent candidacy. Now, 12 Congress leaders from the Dholai region have resigned from their party, branding Dhrubojyoti Purkayastha as a “BJP Marked Candidate” and accusing him of having a close association with Parimal Suklabaidya.