Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, whose tenure as a Rajya Sabha member from Assam ends on June 14, is unlikely to be sent to the Upper House from the State again.
The Congress does not have the numbers in the Assam Assembly to secure a win for Dr. Singh and would not like to take a risk. The Election Commission has announced June 7 as the day of election. The last day for filing nominations is May 28.
In the 126-member Assam Assembly, the Congress has only 25 MLAs, while the party needs first-preference votes of at least 43. Even if the Congress gets the support of 13 MLAs of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), it falls short of five MLAs.