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Assam : Congress bastions fall in council polls

	December 10, 2007

The ruling Congress in Assam suffered a severe setback on Dec. 4 when electorate in the militancy-ravaged North Cachar Hills dealt an unexpected blow, shunting the party out of an autonomous council that was in its control for all but two terms since 1954.



The overwhelming verdict against the Congress was reflected in the defeat of its strongest candidate, former Deputy Chief Minister G.C. Langthasa and the father of the slain chief execu¬tive member of the previous council, Purnendu Langthasa.



The Congress had only two victors - L. Nampui in Kharthong and V. Sangson in Diger.



The Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) had won 12 seats, the BJP seven and Independents two. The ASDC and the BJP, which contested the elections under the banner of the Joint Co-ordination Committee, look set to form the 10th council.



As Congress bastions fell one by one throughout the day, leaders of the ruling party were in despair. None of these re¬sults would have been more shocking than Langthasa’s defeat by Kalijoy Sengyung of the ASDC in Haflong constituency. The margin of defeat was 1,850 votes.



Langthasa’s youngest son Dibendu lost to BJP candidate Bokul Bodo in Mahur, completing the rout of both party and dynasty. Dibendu had been nominated in place of his late brother.



The ASDC and BJP fielded candidates in 18 and nine consti¬tuencies as part of a seat-sharing arrangement, while the Con¬gress contested all 27 seats where elections were held. Polling in one constituency, Lower Kharthong, was countermanded after Congress candidate Darbitham Hmar was gunned down on November 4 while returning from a campaign rally. The BJP was to have con¬tested that seat, too.



The Congress downfall triggered speculation about intimida¬tion of voters by the Jewel Gorlosa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah being the determining factor. The militant faction alleg¬edly forced voters not to re-elect the Congress because it saw the party as being close to its rival, the pro-talks DHD.



Health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attributed the defeat to the murder of three senior party members - Purnendu Langthasa and Nindu Langthasa in June and Hmar later - in the run-up to the elections.



As the Congress began taking stock of the damages, the ASDC and the BJP got down to the more serious business of sharing the spoils of the electoral battle. “All elected members of the ASDC and the BJP, along with senior leaders of both parties, will meet in Haflong soon to choose a leader for the chair of chief execu¬tive member,” BJP leader Bhanjanan Langthasa said.



Sources said the North Cachar Hills president of the ASDC, Prakanta Warisa, his BJP counterpart Kulendu Doulogapu and Joint Coordination Committee convenor Dibulal Hojai were the front-runners for the job. Warisa won both the seats he contested, Gunjung and Harangajao. BJP leader Debojit Thousan won in Langt¬ing and Hojai in Wajao.





Centre put on notice on ST status



Torn between six communities demanding Scheduled Tribe status and several others opposing it, New Delhi has been given two more difficult choices to make - a guarantee of ST benefits to the Adivasis by December 15 or a “ban” on panchayat elections in the tea belt.



The All Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association on Dec. 7 not only put the government on notice, but also warned community members against ignoring its poll-ban diktat. The president of the association, Prahlad Gowala, told the media that any member of the tea tribes found digressing from what had been decided would be branded a “traitor” and subjected to a social boycott.





The decisions were taken during a marathon meeting of the association’s executive committee on Dec. 6 night.



Panchayat elections are to be held in three phases: on December 31, January 4 and January 9.



The students’ association has already banned the entry of political leaders into the tea gardens, either to campaign for the elections or placate the tea tribes.



Gowala appealed to community members residing outside the tea belt not to participate in the elections. “The ball is now in the Centre’s court. We have had enough of assurances from the state government. This time, we are not going to be lulled into complacency by any assurance from the state government.”



The association has lined up a slew of agitation programmes, beginning today, Dec. 10, to keep the pot boiling. Activists will burn effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in all tea gardens on that day.



The All Assam Students’ Union is backing the tea tribes students’ association and the All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam, which had organised the Guwahati rally that ended in chaos. The AASU leadership said all six communities clamouring for ST status were entitled to it.



Official sources said the tea tribes’ threat to prevent panchayat polls in the tea belt was being taken seriously. The government has convened a meeting on Dec. 10 to work out an elaborate security plan for the polls. The State Election Commis¬sion has declared 2,425 polling stations “very sensitive” and 4,430 “sensitive”.



Jamiat to support Adivasis



In another important political development, the All India Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind announced its decision to extend support to the backward and deprived sections of the Northeast, especial¬ly the Adivasis.



Announcing the party’s decision in Silchar on Dec. 8, Jamiat leader Siddikulla Choudhury, said his party was ready to take up the cause of the Adivasis. He said the Jamiat’s Assam unit has been asked to open units in a few gardens of the state for a joint political movement with the tea population.



Choudhury, who is also the convenor of the People’s Demo¬cratic Conference of India, said Jharkand Sangharsha Morcha has been roped into the organisation.



Expressing his shock over the mayhem of the Adivasis in Guwahati on November 24, he said the time had come for all the deprived communities of the state to forge unity for wresting their demands.



Choudhury said the Jamiat would soon tie up with the AUDF under the garb of People’s Democratic Conference of India to take part in the forthcoming panchayat elections.





DHD militant shot dead



A Dima Halam Daogah militant, said to have been involved in the ambush on Congress leader Dibendu Langthasa on Thursday, Dec. 6, was killed in an encounter with police at Waris village, about 20km from Haflong on Dec. 7.



The militant has been identified as London Dimasa. The police arrested another militant, Stabli Dimasa, and seized an US-made carbine from him.



A joint police and CRPF team raided the village around noon after it received information that seven militants, who were involved in Thursday’s ambush on the Congress leader, had taken shelter at Warsi. An exchange of fire followed, during which the other militants managed to escape.



Police also claimed that Stabli who had arrived in Waris recently with the aim of carrying out subversive activities. He was a member of the 709 battalion of the ULFA and had been stay¬ing there in a rented house with two other rebels.