Regional Asom Gana Parishad president Chandra Mohan Patowary here on Sunday resigned from his post while accepting moral responsibility for the party’s dismal performance in the Assembly elections. The resignation of Mr Patowary came a day after the AGP suffered a humiliating defeat in the polls. While the Congress swept the polls, the AGP came a poor fourth with only 10 seats, 14 less than its tally of 2006. The worst was that Mr Patowary himself lost the election to his Congress rival Nilamoni Sen Deka.
In his reaction Mr Patowary said, “I tried but failed. I honour the public mandate. I have resigned as AGP president. I shall continue to work as a member of the party.” Mr Patowary submitted his resignation to AGP working president Phanibhushan Choudhury. Copies of the letter were also sent to all the party general secretaries.
Mr Patowary, one of the frontline leaders of the AGP, became party president under dramatic circumstances in 2008, when then incumbent party president Brindawan Goswami was forcibly removed.
The Assembly election of 2011 was an acid test for the AGP president.
In what was said to be the product of Assam movement, the AGP was acting as a major political force of the state but deteriorating performance of the party since 2001 has pushed the party to a corner of the state politics. The party, facing an identity crisis in the state has been rejected third consecutive time by the electorates since its founder president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was expelled from the party. Though, in 2008, he was brought back through a process of unification but party failed to reach the electorates due to personality clashes between the ranks of the party. (EOM)
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Assembly to be dissolved
Age correspondent
Guwahati
May 15: The council of ministers, led by Tarun Gogoi, on Sunday recommended dissolution of the Assam Assembly, thereby paving the way for constitution of a new Assembly. Pranab Mukherjee is also scheduled to arrive here.