NEW DELHI, Nov. 5 � The list of office-bearers of State Congress is likely to be announced shortly, with PCC president Bhubaneswar Kalita meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today.
Kalita, who left for New York this evening, met the two senior leaders ostensibly to �offer Diwali greeting�. It has been learnt that the list of office-bearers, executive and all-important election committee has been finalised and ready to be released.
Kalita�s meeting also assumes significance of the internal churnings within the party over several issues, including the question of alliances, the big dam issue and its relations with AUDF.
Kalita�s camp has been advocating post-poll alliance in the Assembly polls, while Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi favours keeping this option open. Though, off late taking a cue from the Congress president�s address, he has softened his stand. Still, he has advocated �friendly contest� with BPF like in the past.
Sources said a view within the party is that BPF be allowed to contest in BTAD areas in alliance with Congress. But it would oppose its alliance partner�s attempt to put up candidates in areas outside BTAD, where Congress is not willing to contest any seats to BPF, said sources.
On big dam issue, the party sees an attempt by the Opposition to consolidate and turn it a poll issue. But Gogoi thinks otherwise and has said that it would fizzle out and have no political impact.
Yesterday, Kalita blamed the AGP for the mess over the dam issue, while the Chief Minister pushed for constitution of an multi-disciplinary expert committee on the issue.
The dam issue has been taken seriously by the party. On Wednesday evening, the Chief Minister invited some of the senior leaders of the party including Kalita and Paban Singh Ghatowar over dinner for a strategy session to discuss the issue and recent belligerence of the Opposition.
