Assam Election 2021: Cong fields ex-BJP leader Sum Ronghang from Diphu seat

GUWAHATI:

The Diphu (ST) Legislative Assembly constituency in Karbi Anglong is all set to witness another battle between two heavyweights, come poll day on April 1.

Only this time, the rivalry camps have been circumstantially “reversed”.

The central election committee of the Congress on Thursday nominated sitting MLA, Sum Ronghang as the candidate for Diphu Legislative Assembly constituency in the second phase Assembly election on April 1.

Interestingly, Ronghang, who had last won the Diphu seat on a BJP ticket five years back, will contest the same seat this time, against the same candidate – former MLA, Bidya Sing Engleng, but from a different party.

A Cabinet minister (in the Sonowal government in the outgoing term) and a former chief executive member of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), Ronghang had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party after being denied a ticket.

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He joined the Opposition Congress last Sunday.

Ronghang’s name was among the 11 sitting MLAs excluded by BJP in the list of party candidates.

The saffron party had announced a list of 70 candidates on March 5 and instead nominated Engleng for the Diphu seat.

Engleng, who is also a former KAAC chief, had lost the 2016 Assembly election, which he contested as a Congress candidate, to Ronghang.

After issuing names of 26 candidates on Wednesday night, the central election committee (CEC) of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) had issued another list on Thursday afternoon, featuring Ronghang for Diphu and Raton Engti for Bokajan (ST) constituency, for the second phase of the Assam Assembly elections.

(Edited by Shankar Kumar Turha)