The Opposition Congress on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Bhangagarh police station here seeking registration of a case against its Udalguri candidate, Suren Daimari, under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for alleged cheating, criminal defamation and dishonest misappropriation of movable property.

The complaint, filed by Assam PCC general secretary (organisation) Ramanna Baruah, was prompted by Daimari’s abrupt resignation from the Congress a day ahead of Thursday’s high-stakes Assembly polls.

In his complaint, Baruah said the party had provided him with ₹30,00,000 through account transfer (RTGS) for party expenditure after his nomination was accepted by the Election Commission last month.

“The amount was transferred to A/c No. 698502010019694, IFSC: UBIN0569852, Bank: Union Bank of Shri Suren Daimari,” the complaint said, adding that the party came to know about his resignation from media reports on Thursday, with effect from Wednesday.

“He also informed through print and electronic media that he is no longer in the fray as a candidate in the Assembly Election 2026. He also stated that the Congress is a ‘Gaddar Party’ and a ‘Probonchokor Party’. Thus, he has maligned and tarnished the image of the Congress in public,” the complaint stated.

Seeking registration of a case and appropriate action, the Assam PCC said Daimari’s actions attracted various provisions of the BNS, including Section 316 (criminal breach of trust), Section 318 (cheating), Section 356
(criminal defamation) and Section 314 (dishonest misappropriation of movable property), along with other sections.

The Telegraph had earlier reported that Daimari, 73, announced his resignation and the “surrender” of his candidature before mediapersons, citing lack of support from the Congress leadership despite repeated reminders. He also alleged that the party worked only for Bengali-speaking Muslim communities and neglected the Scheduled Tribes.

Though Daimari resigned from the party, he remained officially in the fray along with three other contestants as the last date for withdrawal of nominations was March 26.

His public resignation marked the second pre-poll setback for the Congress after the rejection of Barpeta candidate Mahananda Sarkar’s nomination during scrutiny.

Udalguri constituency falls under the Sixth Schedule Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) area, where there is a direct contest between the BPF-BJP alliance and the UPPL. The Congress, which drew a blank in the 2021 polls, was trying to rebuild its base in the BTC region.

Altogether 722 candidates contested the 126 seats in the state, with polling held on Thursday. The turnout stood at 85.38 per cent till 8 pm, over three percentage points higher than in 2021. Women voters (85.96 per cent) outnumbered men (84.80 per cent).
The electorate totalled 2,50,54,463.