Pervez Ahmed

Guwahati, April 28: The Congress is trying to nominate Pervez Ahmed, the doctor son of late President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, from Barpeta in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Party insiders said Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and minority leaders have held several meetings with Ahmed to nominate him in place of the sitting MP from Barpeta, A.F. Golam Osmani.

Osmani’s renomination appears very unlikely owing to his failing health and strained relations with the state leadership.

The party think-tank zeroed in on Ahmed not only as a suitable replacement for Osmani but also as a face which can “connect” with Muslim voters and neutralise the dent made by the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) in the Congress votebank.

The Congress even held a party in “honour” of Ahmed ahead of Bihu at forest minister Rockybul Hussain’s official residence to “introduce” him to minority leaders and MLAs.

The 59-year-old doctor said over phone from Delhi that the party leadership had sounded him out, adding he would take a call only after a stocktaking trip to Barpeta in the first week of May.