Congress holds CEC meet for Assam polls; ex-AGP leader joins party

Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a Congress CEC meeting for the upcoming Assam Assembly polls. The party also received a boost as former Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Jayanta Khaound joined its ranks in New Delhi.

The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, along with the party's national president, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Thursday chaired the Congress Central Election Committee meeting, ahead of the upcoming Assam Assembly elections.

Ex-AGP Leader Joins Congress

In a separate development, Congress on Monday received a boost in Assam ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, as former Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) national finance secretary Jayanta Khaound joined the party along with some other leaders.

Khaound was formally inducted into the Congress at the party headquarters here in the presence of senior leaders, including Assam in-charge and AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh Alwar, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress senior observer for Assam D K Shivakumar, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi and national secretary Manoj Chauhan.

Welcoming Khaound into the party, Gogoi said the entry of a grassroots leader like him reflects "growing public discontent in Assam against the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma". He said there is a rising wave of political change in Assam.

"Asom Gana Parishad's Jayanta Khaund contacted us a few days ago expressing his wish to join the Congress party... Today, we are going to induct him and his coworkers into the party," he said.

"Today, a wave is rising in Assam against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for the way he is acting arbitrarily, promoting incompetent people in politics, and the way he is sidelining those who have worked hard in active politics for so many years. He is keeping with him only those who are involved in corruption," he alleged.

Electoral Battle for Assam

Meanwhile, Assam is set to hold Legislative Assembly elections later this year, where the BJP will look to secure a third consecutive term while the Congress aims to defeat the ruling party to return to power. (ANI)

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