Opposition chasm gives edge to Congress

RS POLLS

BY Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Feb 26: A divided Opposition has given the Congress an edge in the elections to the two Rajya Sabha seats slated for March 21.

Two of the seven seats in Assam, currently held by Congress' Pankaj Bora and zneen Faraque, will fall vacant on April 2 due to expiry of their terms.

A candidate needs 39 votes to win (in case no one abstains from voting) as the present strength of the State assembly is 114.

Even though the Opposition has 43 votes - AIUDF-18, BPF-12, AGP-7, BJP-6, the chances of the Congress bagging both the seats appear bright given that the AIUDF is unlikely to take the risk of siding with the BJP ahead of the assembly elections.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has rejected AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal's offer of extending support to senior Congress leader Abdul Muhib Mazumdar if he is nomited by the party as a candidate.

 "The Congress won't act on Ajmal's terms," Gogoi said.

Meanwhile, State Congress president Anjan Dutta today ruled himself out of the contest.