Dholai by-poll defeat: Congress forms probe panel to dig out lapses

Silchar, Nov 25: After the results of the by-election to the Dholai (SC) seat were declared, in which the Congress candidate Dhrubajyoti Purkayastha faced defeat, the Silchar District Congress Committee has braced itself for a post-poll analysis of the voting turnout and finding out the lapses. Addressing the media at the Indira Bhawan in Silchar, Abhijit Paul, president of the Silchar District Congress Committee, said that being the president of the district Congress unit, he took responsibility for the defeat, which in many ways might have been affected by a 'virus' inside the party (hinting at North Sribhumi MLA Kamalakshya Dey Purkayastha) and informed that a five-member committee has been formed to investigate the causes of the defeat.

"We heartily thank the voters of Dholai, humbly accept the mandate in the by-election, and take a vow to be close to the people of Dholai, who have shown their support towards the Congress. However, the causes for the defeat must be investigated and analysed for which we have formed a five-member committee headed by Ajit Singh, a former minister and Assam Pradesh Congress vice-president.

The committee will investigate in detail the reasons behind our loss in the electoral battle at Dholai and prepare a report within seven days. We strongly suspect that the 'virus' inside the party could be a reason if there is any sabotage that cost us the valuable seat," Paul asserted. He was quick to allege that the BJP had pressed all efforts to clinch the Dholai Assembly seat to safeguard its 'syndicate of Burmese areca nuts,' a trade that has flourished in Dholai, which is close to the Assam-Mizoram inter-state border. He asserted that the Congress will not sit silent on the issue.

Interestingly, veteran Congress leader and Borkhola MLA Misbahul Islam Laskar stated that Kamalakshya's political career will be a 'thing of the past' before the 2026 Assembly election. He informed that the Congress party has submitted complaints before the Assembly Speaker against Kamalakshya for his anti-party conduct.

By

Staff Correspondent