Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday left for New Delhi to meet top central leaders of the Congress to work out the formula for ministry reshuffle and apprise them of the progress in discussion initiated by him with legislators including dissident legislators to end differences in the party.
Mr. Gogoi is in a position to immediately induct four ministers after he had dropped two ministers and accepted the resignation of dissident leader Himanta Biswa Sarma. Earlier, the Bodoland People’s Front minister in his cabinet resigned in June when the Bodo political party severed its ties with the ruling Congress.
Sources in the Chief Minister’s office said that Mr. Gogoi has sought an appointment with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and he was likely to obtain her seal of approval for ministry reshuffle. However, it was not clear if the reshuffle will take place ahead of the budget session of the Assam Assembly beginning on August 4.
Congress insiders did not rule out the possibility of Mr. Gogoi withholding the ministry reshuffle till assembly session is over in a bid to prevent fresh consolidation by dissidents by wooing those left out in the process. Gogoi-loyalists claim that some of the 24 dissident MLAs, who issued a joint statement on Thursday vowing to pursue their demand for change of leadership within the party forum, later met Mr. Gogoi in the night to pledge their support for any effort initiated by the Chief Minister to end differences and go to 2016 assembly polls as a united house. Amidst speculations of rebel Congress MLAs resorting to extreme steps of splitting the party the Asom Gana Parishad president Atul Bora hinted that the regional party might consider extending its support to formation of an alternative government if the dissidents split from the Congress and take the initiative to bring down the Tarun Gogoi-led government, which it alleged, had become a burden on the common man.
Mr. Bora, however, said that the regional party has been closely observing the strength of the dissidents in the ruling party.
Speculations were rife in the political circle that the dissidents have kept their cards close to the chest as to what they would do in the event the opposition tables a no-confidence motion against the Gogoi-government.
