Nirupama Borgohain

Guwahati; Aug. 7: Author Nirupama Borgohain today said she would withdraw her name from the list of contestants for the prestigious president post of the Asam Sahitya Sabha if she needed to contest an election, leaving room for speculation that the final race might be between Dhrubajyoti Borah and Naren Kalita.

“I don’t want to become president by competing with somebody. If I am nominated then I don’t have a problem, but not by winning a competition,” Borgohain told The Telegraph. She said if Borah and Kalita remain in the list then she will withdraw her name, leaving them to contest the election.

The development has come a day after another contestant, Arun Sarma, withdrew his name from the list citing reluctance to contest election and health reasons.

Paramananda Rajbongshi, the present vice-president of the Sabha who was among the five contestants for the post, had earlier withdrawn his name offering his support to Borgohain.

Borgohain, one of the most respected litterateurs in the state, has a number of novels and short story collections to her credit highlighting various problems of society. She won the Sahitya Akademi for her novel Abhijatri.

Sources said many litterateurs find it difficult to compete with someone to become president. “They think as the president of the Sabha is a prestigious post it should not be given to somebody who can manage to get maximum votes in an election. Besides, of late, there have been reports of existence of many fake branches of the Sabha which have made them wary about a contest,” a source said.

In another development, a former executive member of the Sabha, Bhabaniprasad Adhikari, today accused vice-president Rajbongshi of manipulating the state’s biggest literary body for fulfilling his “hunger for power”, specifically pointing to the sudden amendment of the Sabha’s bylaws in its August 3 executive meeting at Mangaldoi.

The amendment legalised Rajbongshi’s contest for the general secretary post. Rajbongshi could not be contacted for comments on the allegation. Yesterday, Sabha president Imran Shah and its Darrang district branch supported the amendment.

Adhikari today said Shah might not be aware of the backgrounds of the earlier amendments of the constitution and bylaws of the Sabha to support the Mangaldoi amendment.

The amendment has triggered controversy within and outside the Sabha, prompting its chief election officer, Iswar Prasad Borthakur, and legal adviser Navanita Baruah to resign. The Sabha will hold an urgent executive meeting on Sunday at Sivasagar to appoint a new chief election officer.