By IANS
Guwahati : Assam’s faction-ridden opposition party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) Friday chose Brindaban Goswami as president for the second straight term amid violent protests by some members.
A party spokesman said Goswami was elected “unopposed” at the end of the AGP’s three-day triennial conference here.
But the conference was marred by vociferous protests and violence with opponents of Goswami vandalizing the premises of the Indian Tea Association’s cultural complex in the city, the venue of the meet.
“The party president was selected amicably without going for an election. Phani Bhusan Choudhury, a senior party leader, was chosen as the working president,” a senior AGP leader said. Both will have three-year terms.
“My aim now would be to strengthen the party and work sincerely,” Goswami said after being elected president.
But another AGP leader who requested anonymity said: “Choudhury’s supporters were adamant that Goswami should be replaced as party president or else there should be a vote for the post. There were clashes that broke out between the two groups although some senior leaders managed to avoid an election.”
The conference brought to the fore the cracks within the AGP and the bickering for power by its top leaders.
A sizeable section within the AGP top brass wanted Goswami to relinquish his post, blaming him for the poll debacle the party faced during the assembly elections last year.
AGP leaders also accused Goswami of being a stumbling block in uniting the AGP with the AGP-Progressive, the party formed by former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta in 2005 after being expelled from the AGP.
Goswami replaced Mahanta – the founder of AGP – as the party president in 2001 after Mahanta faced a bigamy charge. Mahanta was then expelled from the AGP in 2005 for “anti-party” activities. He has denied both charges.