Ranjeet Kumar Dass likely to be given ministerial berth, race for BJP president post begins

GUWAHATI: The state BJP, which is going to form the next government with the help of its allies, will have to look for a suitable candidate for the party president’s post as Ranjeet Kumar Dass, who won from the Patacharkuchiconstituency this time, is likely to get ministerial berth this time.
Dass, who did not get a ministerial berth last time, was appointed as speaker of the assembly for a brief period. Later, he was replaced by Hitendra Nath Goswami and Dass was given the charge of BJP state president.
Party sources said several senior party leaders’ names have come to the fore for the state BJP president’s post if Dass gets a ministerial berth.
“The names include seniormost leader Ramen Deka and present national general secretary Dilip Saikia. Moreover, Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa is also in the list. However, no serious discussion on the matter has taken place as of now,” the source said.
Ramen Deka is the founder member of BJP. He held the position of state BJP general secretary in 2005 and became state BJP president in 2006. Deka was elected to the Lok Sabha for two terms — 2009 and 2014.
Under the presidentship of Dass, BJP clinched the panchayat elections held in 2018, Lok Sabha elections in 2019 and the recently concluded assembly elections.
“The party needs a capable dynamic leader like Dass to handle the party smoothly because the party has to get ready for the next Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2024. The party is currently busy in forming the government formally. Let’s see what happens after that,” the source said.
Dass, who won from Sorbhog constituency in the 2016 assembly elections, changed his constituency this time and contested from Patacharkuchi. He defeated Congress candidate Santanu Sarma by a margin of 62,853 votes. Assam Jatiya Parishad’s Pabindra Deka, who was considered as a strong rival, lost the battle by a huge margin.