Dholai Congress Workers Burn Effigy of District President Abhijit Paul, Demands Resignation

Old Congress versus New Congress is the agenda of the Indian National Congress for the upcoming Dholai By-Election. The political landscape in Dholai has been heating up for quite some time ahead of the by-election, with Congress workers expressing their anger against their District President, Abhijit Paul. In a dramatic protest, party members burned Paul’s effigy not once, but twice within a week, accusing him of corruption and colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The seat, previously held by BJP MLA Parimal Suklabaidya, who vacated it after becoming the Member of Parliament for Silchar in the Lok Sabha, has now become a battleground of rising tensions within the Congress. On Saturday night, Congress workers in the Irongmara and Loharbon Mandals of the Borjalenga block took to the streets, burning Paul’s effigy and raising slogans like “Abhijit Paul Hatao, Congress Bachao.” Protesters claimed Paul is a BJP insider and accused him of plotting the BJP’s victory in the Silchar Lok Sabha seat, while conspiring to sell the Congress ticket for Dholai to the BJP as well.

This was the second such protest against Paul in a week, with the first incident occurring on September 3. The unrest, led by furious Congress workers, continues to grow as they allege that Paul has been handpicking Mandal Presidents of the party to suit his own interests.

Adding to the complexity of the internal strife, a faction of the divided Congress has started backing Anup Roy for the Dholai seat, with support from the Dholai Yuva Congress.

As the turmoil unfolds and his puppet “funerals” continue, Paul has remained silent on the allegations of corruption and his purported links to the BJP. Whether the rising anger against Paul is driven by intra-party corruption or fueled by external forces to divide the Congress remains to be seen. However, the drama surrounding the Dholai by-election is sure to intensify as political manoeuvring ramps up ahead of the by-polls.