AAP brings back Bhaben Choudhury as Assam chief after 5 months

Guwahati: The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday said the party has appointed its national joint secretary Bhaban Choudhury as the acting state president of the Assam unit, five months after replacing him from the post.

As the party's permanent president Manoj Dhanowar is not active due to "personal reasons", the executive committee in its meeting on Saturday unanimously chose Choudhury for the position.

Choudhury was the chief of AAP Assam prior to Dhanowar taking charge as state president in September last year.

Immediately after assuming office, Choudhury condemned the “increasing political violence, suppression of democratic protests and the deliberate defamation campaigns against opposition leaders and their families”.

"The BJP government is systematically killing democracy by silencing opposition voices. No matter how much suppression they impose, the people of Assam will give them a befitting reply in 2026," he said in a statement.

Highlighting the “rising public discontent”, he claimed that the government has failed to address critical issues like skyrocketing prices, communal remarks, environmental destruction due to deforestation and the recurring floods in Assam.

"The frustration among the common people is growing every day and in response, the BJP is intentionally creating a chaotic environment to instill fear among the masses," Choudhury said.

He also alleged that the BJP government is using fear tactics ahead of the 2026 assembly elections to deter public dissent.

"If a double-engine government with full control over the home department cannot prevent lawlessness, it only proves that the situation is being deliberately created for political gains," Choudhury asserted.

He also criticised the one-man Justice (retd) Biplab Kumar Sharma Commission report on the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) scam, calling it a politically motivated document.

"The investigation ignored key testimonies, favouring only the version of the accused, which even the judiciary does not find credible. This is a clear conspiracy to malign opposition leadership," he claimed.

The role of former CM Tarun Gogoi in appointing prime accused Rakesh Kumar Paul first as a member and later as chairman of the APSC has come under scrutiny in the report, which was tabled in the Assam Assembly on February 17.

Choudhury also condemned the "targeted defamation" of spouses of opposition MPs and MLAs, wondering why the government failed to investigate more serious allegations such as illegal coal mining in Umrangso and the disproportionate assets of ruling party members.

"The entire administrative machinery is being misused for political vendetta," he remarked.

Choudhury claimed that under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's leadership, the BJP government has dragged Assam's politics to an "all-time low", turning it into a battleground for personal enmity rather than governance.

"This trend is extremely dangerous for the future of Assam's political system," he added.