Badarpur Cong MLA Jamal Uddin Ahmed, former party MLA Aroti Kachari pass away

GUWAHATI: In yet another setback for the Congress ahead of the Assam Assembly elections in March-April, party’s sitting MLA from Badarpur in Karimganj district Jamal Uddin Ahmed passed away at his home town Karimganj last night.

Former Congress MLA from Dergaon in Golaghat district Aroti Hazarika Kachari also passed away late last night.

Ahmed was 66 and Kachari 59.

His demise reduced the strength of the Congress in the Assam Legislative Assembly to 19 legislators. After the demise of former speaker Pranab Gogoi and former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, two Congress sitting MLAs – Ajanta Neog of Golaghat and Rajdeep Goala of Lakhipur -- joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress had won 26 seats in the 2016 elections.

A veteran Congress leader, Ahmed, is stated to have complained of uneasiness on Tuesday evening and was rushed to the district civil hospital. He, however, succumbed before he could be shifted to Silchar Medical College Hospital in Silchar for better treatment.

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Earlier in the day, Ahmed had attended the Republic Day celebrations. He was laid to rest at Karimganj today.  

Ahmed was elected thrice from the Badarpur Assembly seat. He first won the seat in 2001 as a Trinamool Congress candidate. Later in 2011 and 2016, he contested and won the seat on Congress tickets. The seasoned leader’s demise has come as a major setback to the Congress ahead of the state Assembly elections in March-April.

Leaders cutting across the party lines have condoled the demise of Ahmed. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal tweeting: “Saddened to learn about the demise of veteran Congress leader and Badarpur MLA Jamal Uddin Ahmed. Praying for the departed soul, I offer my sincere condolences to his family and well-wishers.”

Aroti  Kachari is stated to have succumbed to ailment at a hospital in Dergaon. 

She was elected as an MLA in 2011. She lost the polls to AGP’s Bhabendra Nath Bharali in the Assembly elections in 2016. 

Meanwhile, chief minister Sonowal has ordered chief secretary Jishnu Baruah to perform the last rites of the noted linguist and litterateur Ramesh Pathak with full state honour.

Pathak passed away at his residence here on Tuesday after battling prolonged illness. He was 79.

Born in 1959, Pathak was a professor of Cotton University here. He completed his matriculated from Tihu High School in 1959 and graduated from Cotton College in 1963. He did his Masters  from Gauhati University in 1966.

Assam Prakashan Parishad office bearers had visited his residence only on Monday and presented him the Lifetime Achievement Award.