Guwahati, 25 March

Bharat Chandra Narah, the MLA of Naoboicha in Assam's Lakhimpur district, resigned from the Congress on Monday after his wife failed to get a ticket from the party for the Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress announced Uday Shankar Hazarika as its candidate for the Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat. Narah was hopeful that his party would nominate his wife Ranee Narah, a former Union Minister, for the seat. "I do hereby resign from the Indian National Congress with immediate effect," the MLA said in his one-line resignation letter to party president Mallikarjun Kharge.

On Sunday, Narah resigned from the post of the chairman of Assam Congress' media cell. He is a five-time MLA from Dhakuakhana constituency, and became a legislator for the sixth term from Naoboicha in 2021. Prior to joining Congress, he was with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).

Narah has been a cabinet minister in both the AGP and Congres governments. He was also the press advisor to then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. His wife Ranee Narah is a three-time MP from Lakhimpur and has also served a term in the Rajya Sabha.

Ranee Narah and Hazarika, who had switched over to Congress from the ruling BJP a few months ago, were in close contention for nomination from Lakhimpur, party sources said. Though Hazarika is a new face in the party, he has strong support from the state Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, they said.

Hazarika is in a straight fight with BJP candidate Pradan Baruah, who is seeking a third successive term in the constituency.

Earlier this month, Congress MP Abdul Khaleque resigned from the party after he was denied a ticket from the Barpeta constituency. However, he withdrew it after a meeting with Kharge in New Delhi.

Of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress has fielded candidates in 13 seats. It has offered support in the Dibrugarh seat to ally Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). The BJP has named candidates in 11 seats, while its allies AGP and UPPL fielded candidates in two and one seat, respectively.

The Congress has three MPs from the state in the outgoing Lok Sabha, while the BJP has nine, and one seat each is held by the AIUDF and an Independent. Presently, the BJP's official strength in the 126-member assembly is 61, while its allies AGP and UPPL have nine and seven MLAs, respectively.

In the Opposition benches, the Congress has 27 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members, Bodoland People's Front (BPF) has three and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.