Abdul Khaleque, a Congress Member of Parliament from Barpeta, Assam, who was denied a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, tendered his resignation from the party on Friday. He conveyed his decision to resign from the primary membership of the party to its national president, Mallikarjun Kharge, via a letter.
Khaleque, who has served as a two-time MLA and one-time MP, was overlooked for the Congress ticket this time. Instead, the party nominated Deep Bayan, its state Seva Dal chief, to contest from the Barpeta constituency.
In the resignation letter, the MP claimed that the party has taken a strange route in the state, where people-centric issues have taken a back seat. I feel that the attitude and approach taken by the party's state president and AICC general secretary in-charge has ruined the prospect of the party in Assam, he maintained.
In the outgoing Lok Sabha, the Congress holds three out of the 14 seats allocated to the state. Among the incumbents, Gaurav Gogoi and Pradyut Bordoloi have been renominated by the party, retaining their tickets for the upcoming elections.