Assembly to meet on May 30

By Barun Das Gupta

GUWAHATI, MAY 23. The first session of the newly-elected Assam Assembly will begin on May 30 and continue till June 2. Sources said the seniormost member of the House, Mr. Premadhar Bora, would be sworn in speaker pro tem by the Governor on May 29.

The next day, the session will begin with Mr. Bora swearing in the new members and it will be followed by election of the Speaker. Mr. Prithibi Majhi of the Congress, a former Deputy Speaker, is likely to be elected unanimously. Sources hinted that the party was toying with the idea of offering the Deputy Speaker's post to Mr. Jagadish Bhuyan of the AGP but no decision had been taken.

The Speaker will, then, in consultation with the ruling party and the Opposition, announce the constitution of the Business Advisory Committee which will finalise the agenda for the session.

The next day, May 31, the Governor will deliver his inaugural address under Article 176 of the Constitution. The House will have to pass some supplementary demands for grants to be placed by the new Government.

About the two Rajya Sabha elections to be held next month from Assam, sources confirmed today that Dr. Manmohan Singh would be re-nominated for the third consecutive term. As the Congress has 71 MLAs and since a candidate needs 43 first preference votes to win, Dr. Singh's re-election is a foregone conclusion.

There is uncertainty about the second seat, because the Congress cannot win this seat on its own. It will need at least another 15 first preference votes. However, the Congress has not given up hope. The ten-member ABSU group and some smaller parties like the Trinamul Congress, PLP and TGP have announced their willingness to support the Congress. Sources said these parties would be sounded and if they responded positively, the Congress might win the second seat also.

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