Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Era Comes To An End

GUWAHATI: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s more than two-decade-long association with Assam will come to an end next month with the Congress deciding not to contest the Rajya Sabha elections from the State this time.

The Rajya Sabha polls for two seats of the State is scheduled to be held on June 7 as Singh’s current term – and also that of another Congress MP Santius Kujur – will end on June 14 next.

The Congress has decided not to contest the ensuing Rajya Sabha elections since the present electoral college arithmetic in Assam Assembly does not favour the party. In the 126-member House, the Congress has 25 MLAs compared to the combined 88 MLAs of the ruling alliance made up of BJP (61), AGP (14) and BPF (12) and an independent MLA. The AIUDF has 13 MLAs.

Manmohan Singh, who became the Prime Minister of India for two consecutive terms, has been representing Assam in the upper House since 1991. The last time he got elected was on May 30, 2013 when the Congress was in power in the State and it had a large number of legislators in the Assembly.

Singh was first offered a Rajya Sabha seat in 1991 by the then Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia and following his election, he was appointed as Union Finance Minister.

As there is a law that says a person getting elected to Parliament from a State has to be its ordinary resident, Saikia had made Singh a tenant in his house which is located at the Sarumotoria locality in Guwahati.

The permanent address of Singh is House No. 3989, Nandan Nagar, Ward No. 51, Sarumataria, Dispur, Guwahati, Kamrup (Metro).

Manmohan Singh and his wife — Gursharan Kaur — are voters in the Dispur Legislative Assembly constituency in the city. They exercised their franchise at Guwahati during the Lok Sabha elections. On a few occasions in public life during his stint as Prime Minister, Singh called Assam his adopted home which was very close to his heart and soul.

Also Read: Top Headlines