Assam: CM takes additional charge of Health; Fishery, Excise & Transport to Keshab Mahanta

Assam bye-poll hits technical roadblock

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: In his exercise of the relocation of departments, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has taken up the Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education & Research departments, apart from his existing departments.

This was necessitated after state cabinet minister Parimal Suklabaidya went to Parliament. The Chief Minister allotted the three departments held by Suklabaidya—the Fishery, Transport, and Excise departments—to Keshab Mahanta and relieved him of the Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education & Research departments.

Thus, Keshab Mahanta now has the Transport, Fishery, Excise, Science and Technology, and Information Technology departments with him.

The Chief Minister, on the other hand, has Home, Personnel, PWD, Health, Medical Education, Indigenous and Tribal Faith and Culture, and any other departments not allotted to any other ministers.

With five MLAs—Rakibul Hussain, Parimal Suklabaidya, Phani Bhushan Choudhury, Ranjit Dutta, and Joyanta Basumatary—elected to the Lok Sabha, according to the rules, the vacant Assembly constituencies have to go for bye-poll within six months. The technical problem that arises now is precarious: these five candidates made it to the 15th Assam Assembly before the notification of the delimitation of constituencies. However, since the delimitation of constituencies has already been executed in Assam with the realignment of both Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, if the bye-poll is held in accordance with the post-delimitation of Assembly constituencies, a large number of voters of the pre-delimitation LACs will be deprived of voting. And just opposite is the situation if the bye-poll is held according to the post-delimitation Assembly constituencies. How come the 15th Assam Assembly will have two categories of members: one category belonging to the post-delimitation of constituencies and the other belonging to the pre-delimitation of constituencies?

The Chief Minister is of the clear-cut view that it is a subject that lies within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India. “We will follow the decision that the Election Commission of India takes on the bye-poll in Assam,” he said.

Also Read: Assam: State government gearing up for floods; CM chairs Kaziranga flood planning meet (sentinelassam.com)

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