Congress candidate ‘quits’ party on eve of Assam polls: ‘Was betrayed’

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Downplaying his “exit”, a Congress leader said Daimari has not officially sent his resignation letter to the party. “Since we did not have a realistic expectation to bring in that seat, it was low in the party’s priorities and that might have upset the candidate,” the leader said.On the eve of elections in Assam, Congress’s candidate for Udalguri constitu­ency, Suren Daimari, ann­o­u­nced on Wednesday that he has “stepped down” from the party and withdrawn from the contest, alleging lack of support from the party during the campaign.However, 73-year-old Daimari said he is yet to formally approach the Election Commission. With the last date for withdrawal of candidature on March 26, an election official said Daimari’s name will remain on the EVMs and voters will be able to cast votes for him.Downplaying his “exit”, a Congress leader said Daimari has not officially sent his resignation letter to the party. “Since we did not have a realistic expectation to bring in that seat, it was low in the party’s priorities and that might have upset the candidate,” the leader said.Daimari said he had joined Congress in January this year. “Congress has been weak in Udalguri for years so I thought I would make it strong. I did not seek a ticket at first, but I got it.”“I wanted to strengthen the Congress in Udalguri but they did not give me any help. Feeling hurt, I have stepped down today. The kind of support I should have got from the party, from its district office, from its people, I didn’t get. They did not give me enough money from the party for campaigning. Because I did not get support, I have decided I don’t want to contest and will not remain with the party,” he said.Earlier in the day, he told reporters the Congress “betrayed” him and that there was “no communication or support from the leadership” after he was nominated as the party candidate.The primary contest in Udalguri, an ST-reserved constituency in Bodoland Territorial Region, is between the United People’s Party Liberal’s Dipen and Bodoland People’s Front’s Rihon Daimary.