Politics / Assam

SHILLONG, April 17: Tension ran high along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya when Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) resorted to indiscriminate firing at Pyrdiwah camp of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Dawki sector of EastKhasi Hills district in the wee hours of Monday, official sources said today, reports PTI. BSF sources said here that they immediately retaliated and there was no report of any casualities or injuries on either side. The officiating commandant of the 155 battalion of the BSF rushed to the border and lodged a formal complaint with their BDR counterpart which was followed up by...

GUWAHATI, April 16: In a move which is certain to raise the hackles of state BJP leaders, the Asom Gana Parishad today named four of its top guns in constituencies which have been marked for "friendly contests" with its latest ally. Chief minister and party president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta renominated party vice-president and state cooperation minister Nurul Hussain in Hajo, sericulture minister Ramendra Narayan Kalita in Guwahati (West), deputy Speaker Renupoma Rajkhowa in Teok and former education minister Jatin Mali in the Palasbari constituencies. The names of these four top leaders...

KOKRAJHAR, April 11: All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) and Bodo Peoples' Action Committee (BPAC) have decalred the names of the candidates for seat for the ensuing Assembly elections. The candidates are as follows : Gossaigaon - Bibhuti Bhusan Brahma; Kokrajhar (East) - Pramila Rani Brahma; Kokrajhar (West) - Hemendra Nath Brahma; Sidli - Motin Basumatary; Bijni- Romio Basumatary; Chapaguri - Prabin Boro; Tamulpur - D D Daimary; Kalaigaon - Nathuram Boro; Paneri - Kamli Basumatary; Udalguri - Nareswar Daimary and Mazbat - Pratul Sargoyari. The candidates of the remaining seats have not been...

NEW DELHI, April 16: Irked by the selection of candidates in her constituency, Congress MP Ranee Narah today threatened to resign from the party, even as the Central Election Committee (CEC) began its meeting to finalise the party's list of candidates. Internal differences within the Assam Congress today came out in the open following Ranee's outburst against the party leadership. The former State Youth Congress president created quite a scene at the Parliament House here this afternoon, when she confronted senior AICC leaders, charging them with turning a blind eye about the state-of-affairs...

GUWAHATI, April 16: The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today announced a 54-member list of candidates for the ensuing Assembly election, in which the sitting MLA of Sonai constituency Anowar Hussain Laskar has been denied the party ticket. Announcing the list here the party president and the Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said that his party would contest a total of 79 seats while it would leave 44 for its ally BJP. Mahanta further said that there would be friendly contest with the BJP in 10 seats while the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) would support AGP candidates in 24 constituencies...

GUWAHATI, April 15: Setting all speculations at rest, State's Cooperation Minister Nurul Hussain and Sericulture Minister Ramendra Narayan Kalita today categorically said that they would remain with the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) come what may. The names of Hussain and Kalita were in the news for the last about four days for their reported moves at currying favour with the Congress leaders subsequent to the AGP's forging an electoral alliance hurriedly with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). AGP MLA from Jonai Pradan Barua's joining Congress on April 12, in the aftermath of the AGP-BJP...

GUWAHATI, April 15: The term 'friendly contest' is creating confusion among the rank and file of both the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to an agreement arrived at by the parties, they would go for 'friendly contest' in 10 constituencies but the concept of such a contest is not clearly described by the leaders of the parties. The Chief Minister and AGP president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta recently told this correspondent that all the 10 constituencies where they have decided to go for friendly contest, were the strongholds of the AGP. He said that the AGP...

GUWAHATI, April 13: The Asom Gana Parishad and the BJP are working overtime to stem dissidence in their ranks. Three BJP trouble-shooters arrived here from New Delhi today to pacify party workers opposed to the "marriage of convenience" with the AGP. Chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, too, launched a damage-control exercise. But it failed to stop some prominent AGP legislators, including ministers, from joining the band of dissidents. Some of these AGP members even threatened to defect to the Congress. The cause of the rift in the AGP is the seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP...

GUWAHATI, April 13: The prospects of the AGP-BJP alliance may suffer because of the weakness of the State unit leaders of the BJP to maintain discipline in the party, said Chief Minister and AGP president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. Talking to The Assam Tribune here today, Mahanta said that if the dissidence and the splits in the BJP cannot be prevented by the leaders of the party, the alliance would be affected in the ensuing polls and the very purpose of the alliance would be defeated. "The State BJP leaders should immediately settle the differences among the party rank and file if they are...

JORHAT, April 13: Rongali Bihu marks a joyous beginning to the Assamese New Year. But for the Gogoi family from Tingkhong in Upper Assam's Dibrugarh district, this season of joy has turned into one of despair. Unlike in the past two years, the Asom Gana Parishad-led government's decision not to offer "safe passage" to ULFA militants this Rongali Bihu has been a major disappointment for the Gogois, who had been hoping to see their 27-year-old son Abhay during the festival. Abhay joined the ULFA just before the last Assembly elections in 1996. His native village of Tingkhong has long been an...