BJP ahead in Assam: Gogoi to resign

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said he would tender his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying he takes ‘full responsibility’ for the party’s electoral defeat in the north-eastern state. With counting trends of votes cast in parliamentary elections showing the BJP leading in seven out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, Gogoi told a private TV channel in Guwahati: ‘I take full responsibility. We are going to accept the people’s mandate with all humility. I am going to tender my resignation to the Congress president.’ Gogoi, however, said the Congress would retain power in Assam in the 2016 assembly election. ‘I have seen late prime minister Indira Gandhi losing elections and again storming back to power. There are wins and defeats in politics,’ Gogoi said, adding that there could be several reasons for the defeat. State Congress president Bhubaneswar Kalita echoed similar sentiments. The trends in the 14 Lok Sabha seats indicate that the BJP was leading on seven seats, followed by the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in three seats each. An independent candidate was leading in another seat, according to bdnews24.com.