"Am ready to become Chief Minister", declares Assam Congress Prez Ripun Bora

Guwahati: Amid rising speculations over who will be the next Chief Minister of Assam, the state's Congress President and Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora on Thursday declared that he is "ready to become CM" if the party high command so wishes.

Addressing a gathering, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora today said that he is ready to take the mantle if the Grand Old Party's leadership wants him to take up the top job in Assam.

Shedding some light on the Congress' maha gathbandhan (grand alliance) with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and other anti-BJP parties, Ripun Bora assured that the Chief Minister will be chosen from the Congress if the alliance comes to power. "Although there will be a grand alliance (for the polls), we want to clarify that the Congress shall remain the 'big brother'. There is no doubt about the fact that the Chief Ministerial candidate will be from the Congress. Since Congress is the largest party, the CM will be from the Congress." he told the gathering.

Meanwhile, there seems to be a cloud of uncertainty over who will be chosen as the Chief Minister candidate of the BJP-AGP-BPF ruling alliance. In August of this year, Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the party leadership is yet to decide on a CM candidate and the picture will become clearer once the polls inch closer.

Earlier, 3-time former Chief Minister and Congress veteran Tarun Gogoi had courted controversy by stating that the ruling party may nominate former chief justice Ranjan Gogoi for the top job. The ex-CJI later came forward to rubbish the claims, calling it "speculation."

In another interesting development, Himanta Biswa Sarma was termed as "eligible for Chief Ministership" by junior Minister Pijush Hazarika, setting off a flurry of rumors that Sarma could succeed Sarmananda Sonowal as the CM. Putting the speculations to rest, Sarma later said that every single resident of Assam is "eligible" for the top job.

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