Deprived candidates file nomination as independent candidates

SILCHAR, July 14: Silchar Congress is now facing the wrath of its rebel candidates as 15 ‘deprived’ Congressmen had filed nomination for the forthcoming Municipality election to be held on July 31 as independent candidates. Among the 15 rebel candidates, the most prominent is Pranay Kar, the outgoing Ward Commissioner of Ward No. 11 who had won the last Municipality election with maximum margin.

Kar had openly raised fingers against the outgoing chairperson as well as Silchar MLA Bithika Dev alleging that the latter had intentionally fielded a weak candidate in this ward so that BJP candidate Dilip Paul could win easily. Paul, a close confidante of Kabindra Purkayastha, helped Bithika to win the Assembly election against late Bimalangshu Roy, who was not in good terms with Purkaystha.

After filing nomination yesterday, Kar openly said, he had been a victim of nasty politics. He however maintained that he no bad vibes against Sontosh Mohan Dev, the former Union Minister. In Ward No. 6, Sujit Dhar, the general secretary of Congress Town Committee, was denied ticket as the district committee decided to field Deepan Dewanji, a journalist who worked as the media convenor of Dev during the last general election.

Another influential outgoing Ward Commissioner Amitabha Sen (Tublu) missed the opportunity to fight the election this year as Ward No. 16 is reserved for women. Sen wanted her lecturer daughter to be the candidate, but the district leadership turned down the proposal and fielded the wife of a youth Congress worker. Sen had reportedly been backing as an independent candidate since then.

Sources said that district leaders were trying to pacify the rebels and requesting them to withdraw their nominations. This was clear as district Congress president Karnendu Bhattacharjee said they had no plan to take disciplinary steps against any party workers who contest the election against the party candidates. But, Susmita Dev, daughter of Sontosh Mohan Dev, who had filed nomination for Ward No. 27 had maintained that like the last Panchayat election, the district committee should have taken undertaking from all the applicants that if they do not get nominations they would not contest the poll as independent candidates. But sources said the district committee was not in favour of taking tough steps before the scrutiny as they were trying to pacify the rebels.

Meanwhile, BJP had somehow managed the crisis of rebel candidates as no prominent leaders of the party who had been denied of tickets had filed nomination as independent candidates. Initially there was much hue and cry in the saffron party over the nomination issue. But newly elected MP Kabindra Purkaystha, who is in Delhi, somehow pacified the rebels. SOURCE: THE SENTINEL