As dissident Congress MLAs in Assam gave the party high command time till Saturday to replace Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi with a new leader, holding out the threat of a split again, central leaders began fresh confabulations with party general secretary CP Joshi in charge of the state meeting senior MPs from the state to discuss the issue over the past few days.
At a press conference in Guwahati on Thursday, five dissident Congress legislators, claiming the support of 55 of the party’s 77 MLAs in the 126-member Assam Assembly, said they would announce their next course of action on Monday.
Mr. Gogoi ruled out his resignation. His loyalists also claimed that he had majority support.
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Congress sources in the national capital pointed out that the key problem in resolving the issue of leadership in Assam is that there are differences in Delhi on the issue: while Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s advisers have been urging her to replace Mr. Gogoi, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been backing him.