Whither Cachar Congress!

Special Correspondent

Silchar: Sushmita Dev, ex MP and president of All India Congress Mahila wing, was expected to take the party to new height of success by her well planned strategy to be still a force of reckoning in the political arena of Barak Valley. But, she failed to reorient and revitalise the once dominant political party of South Assam. Rather, the party after the death of her father, Sontosh Mohan Dev and exit of her mother from active politics, is on totters. The two districts, Cachar and Hailakandi, have no assembly seat. The only consolation is the seat of North Karimganj held by the most popular and dynamic MLA Kamalakha Dey Purkayastha.

Disgruntled leaders and workers in chorus blame Sushmita Dev for the present decline of Congress. They also question why should Dr Rumi Nath, former MLA from Borkhola, and Rajdeep Goala, sitting MLA of Lakhipur, desert Congress and go to saffron fold? All these discordant voices came to the fore at the largely attended meeting of the party in the conference hall of a hotel here on Monday presided over by former Cachar district Congress committee president. All known faces but unhappy with the ego-centric and whimsical manner of Sushmita Dev.

The seasoned politicians, former MP, Kamalendu Bhattacharjee, former minister, Misbahul Islam Laskar, ex municipal commissioner, Atanu Bhattacharjee, dedicated lower lung leaders, Jahangir Alam Laskar, Chandan Chakraborty, Sudhangshu Das, ex DSP, advocate Abdul Hai Laskar, Samsul Rahman Laskar among others could not mince their words in expressing their disillusionment with the leader in question and their repeated hammering on how the glory of the party of their pride could be retrieved. They said there is no resentment against Satu Roy, Kaimganj district president, and Jalal Uddin Laskar, Hailakandi district president. Cachar district president, Pradip Kumar Dey, a handpicked of Sushmita, is almost pushed to the background with no assertiveness. In fact, SushmitaDev is now the butt of unsavoury criticism.

In order to pull the party out of stagnation, better to say hibernation, a 27 member working committee was formed at the meeting of disgruntled leaders and workers. A memorandum would be submitted to Jitendra Singh, in charge Assam, during his proposed visit to the valley. It was decided to strengthen the party booth wise and a blueprint in this regard was also prepared for poll management, besides interactions with workers from all the 7 assembly constituencies. Unless organisational set up is put in order with changes at the top to give it direction and dimension, nothing can stem the decline of Congress.

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