Overview
- On May 24 the Congress Legislature Party in Assam passed a unanimous resolution authorising the national high command to appoint the Leader of Opposition, Deputy Leader and Chief Whip.
- AICC observer Bhupesh Baghel held one-to-one meetings with all 19 Congress MLAs and has submitted a report to the central leadership for a final decision.
- No names have been announced yet and the party high command says it will make the appointments soon, leaving the official LoP and deputy posts vacant for now.
- BJP leaders have seized on the delay to allege distrust and factionalism inside Assam Congress while state leaders, including APCC president Gaurav Gogoi, say MLAs have full faith in the AICC process.
- The choice matters because Congress is down to 19 MLAs against the BJP-led alliance’s 102 seats, and the appointments will determine committee roles, speaking time and the opposition’s ability to press Assam issues and rebuild locally.