Ticket-for-Cash Row Hits Cachar Congress; Abhijit Paul Denies Charges, Calls It a “Political Conspiracy”

Allegations have surfaced against Cachar District Congress Committee President Abhijit Paul, accusing him of selling party tickets for the upcoming Panchayat elections. However, Paul has strongly refuted these claims, calling them baseless and politically motivated. “Those alleging this are not Congressi. It’s a political conspiracy,” he told Barak Bulletin.

According to reports, the accusations were made by members within the Congress party itself. They claim that tickets for the upcoming Panchayat elections are being given not on the basis of merit but rather on the financial strength of candidates. The allegations suggest that instead of choosing hardworking and deserving party workers, tickets are being sold to the highest bidders, especially in areas with a significant minority vote share.

Rumours doing the rounds state that tickets for the Anchalik Panchayat are being sold at Rs 3 lakh each, while Zila Parishad tickets are allegedly being sold for Rs 5 lakh. These claims, however, have been denied by Abhijit Paul, who challenged those making the allegations to come forward with solid proof.

When contacted by Barak Bulletin, Abhijit Paul said, “First of all, we have not yet declared any of our tickets. Secondly, Cachar Congress is following the norms. Our observers have checked at the grassroots level, they have gone to meet the Mandal Committee members and gathered their views, which were brought to the district committee. We had a full-day meeting a few days ago, and based on the Mandal Committee references, we discussed the matter.”

He further added, “If anyone can prove that something unethical has been done regarding tickets, that ticket will be disqualified. And the person who got the ticket through this manner will be suspended, no matter the rank – this includes me as well.”

Paul also claimed that those making the allegations are not genuine Congress members and that these charges are meant to tarnish the party’s image. He clarified that the party has many capable candidates, and the selection process takes time. He assured that the Congress party will contest in every seat independently. “We have taken the solo route this time, we are not forming any alliance,” he added. A total of 162 tickets for Anchalik Panchayat and 25 for Zila Parishad will be given by the party, he confirmed.