GUWAHATI: As BJP candidate Devasish Sharma built a commanding lead in the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll on Friday, October 9, Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi demanded that Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi resign "this very day."
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Speaking in Guwahati, Akhil Gogoi called the trend a "historic defeat" for the Congress. He said the seat was originally Congress's, but its candidate switched to the BJP, forcing the bypoll.
He claimed the party, which won by about 2.5 lakh votes last time, was now struggling to reach even 2 lakh. He also said its minority vote share had fallen from 25 per cent to 5 per cent, and that the BJP was poised to win a minority-dominated seat.
"I believe the Congress President, Gaurav Gogoi, has failed completely," he said, adding that Gaurav Gogoi should step down as state Congress president immediately.
AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, meanwhile, expressed strong confidence of victory. He said recent developments had finally debunked the narrative that his party is the BJP's "B-team." Gaurav Gogoi had earlier alleged that Ajmal was fielded specifically to split the Congress vote.
He went ahead to call Congress the BJP B-Team.
Sharma led Ajmal by 1,71,558 votes in the latest counting trend, with Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora trailing. The Election Commission has not yet declared the final result, and the Congress has not responded to the resignation demand.
