Trouble brewing in Congress over candidates

Party’s Mahila unit chief Sushmita Dev expresses disappointment over selection

All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev. File

Trouble has started brewing within the Congress in Assam over the selection of candidates and sharing of seats with alliance partners.

On Friday, ahead of the expected announcement of the list of party candidates, All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev expressed her resentment to party president Sonia Gandhi.

“I feel hurt because I have not been consulted in the process of selecting candidates and was not even invited to related meetings,” she said.

Ms. Dev is sore over the party’s decision to give the Sonai Assembly seat in the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley to the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).

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The Congress and AIUDF are the major constituents of the eight-party mahajot or grand alliance.

The Congress leader, a former MP, has also resented the party’s decision not to field two candidates of her choice – Papon Deb and Hirak Das – in the Barkhola and Dhalai seats, also in Barak Valley.

An All India Congress Committee leader said the party was trying to resolve the issue.