SILCHAR: The stage is all set for Dilip Kumar Paul, the former Silchar MLA, to make a comeback once again to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Paul was seen in the front row of the audience enjoying the public meeting addressed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday. Later, Sarma admitted that Paul had officially written to the party’s state committee expressing his willingness to join once again. “It is now the prerogative of the party to decide on Dilip Paul’s plea. As a Chief Minister I can only tell you that he had recently met me and said that he is willing to join the BJP. I said, you write to the state committee. That’s all,” Sarma informed the media persons.
Dilip Kumar Paul represented Silchar in the Assembly for two consecutive terms. In the 2021 Assembly election, he was denied the party nomination. Subsequently, he contested as an independent candidate and finished third with 11, 000 votes. Meanwhile, the BJP had expelled him for anti-party activities. After the 2021 election, Paul completely withdrew himself from all public relation activities and restricted himself to his family business. However, he worked silently during the 2021 pandemic as well as during the deluge last year. Paul started to resurface in the political arena since April last. He hit the headlines when Chief Minister Sarma summoned him to his office just prior to the meeting with the Silchar BJP leaders regarding their resentment over the draft delimitation. Sources said, Sarma asked Paul to come back to the party. He later informed Silchar BJP leaders like MP Dr Rajdeep Roy, MLA Deepayan Chakraborty that Paul was all set to make a comeback.
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