In a significant political development, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Tuesday night named senior party leader Wazed Ali Choudhury as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Assam. This appointment comes amid a growing debate over whether the Congress leader in the state assembly should be a Hindu or a Muslim, especially after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the Congress party has been confined to Muslim-majority seats in the recent state elections.
Appointment of Leader and Deputy Leader
Following the approval of the AICC president, Joy Prakash Das, who is the lone Hindu MLA among the 19 Congress legislators in Assam, has been appointed as the deputy leader. The official release from the AICC stated, "Congress President has approved the proposal for the appointment of Leader and Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Assam, as follows, with immediate effect." The announcement named Choudhury as the leader and Das as the deputy leader.
Choudhury's Response
Expressing his gratitude, Wazed Ali Choudhury thanked the Congress high command for placing their trust in him. He said, "Our party has kept faith in me, and I will try to discharge my duties with responsibility. I also thank our MLAs." He especially acknowledged Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Gaurav Gogoi for helping him secure the new role.
Das's Commitment
Joy Prakash Das, on his part, stated that he will remain vocal and voice the concerns of the people of his constituency and the state, both inside and outside the assembly. While Choudhury represents the Birsing Jarua constituency in lower Assam, Das represents the Nowboicha seat in the upper Assam region, an area where the Congress party faced a significant defeat in the recent elections.
Impact of Delimitation
The Congress party has attributed its reduced number of seats in the recent election to the 2023 delimitation drive. The number of Muslim-majority assembly seats in Assam decreased from approximately 35 to 22 after the delimitation process. Traditionally, the Muslim-majority seats across lower, central, and south Assam were vote banks for the Congress party. However, in recent years, many of these seats were won by Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). In the latest election, the AIUDF was almost completely routed in Assam. Although the number of Congress MLAs also declined, they managed to win most of the 22 Muslim-majority seats.
This leadership change is seen as a strategic move by the Congress party to consolidate its position in Assam and address the internal and external debates regarding representation. The party is now looking forward to rebuilding its base and strengthening its presence in the state assembly.
