Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi may be BJP's CM candidate in Assam: Tarun Gogoi
Guwahati: Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, who headed benches that pronounced several key judgements including in the Ayodhya land dispute case, might be the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Assam in the Assembly election next year, veteran Congress leader Tarun Gogoi has claimed.
The BJP, however, denied the former three-time state chief minister's assertion on Ranjan Gogoi who was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member by the government in March.
If the former CJI could go to the Rajya Sabha, he might also agree to be the next chief ministerial candidate of the BJP in Assam, said Tarun Gogoi.
"I have heard from several sources that Ranjan Gogoi's name is there in the list of BJP candidates for the chief minister's post. I suspect that he might be projected as the next possible chief ministerial candidate," he said.
Ranjan Gogoi, who is the son of former Assam CM Kesab Chandra Gogoi, could have easily become the chairman of the Human Rights Commission or other rights bodies, but he accepted the Rajya Sabha membership as "he has political ambition", the Congress leader claimed.\
"The BJP was happy with Ranjan Gogoi for the Ayodhya land dispute case judgment. It won't be surprising if he agrees to be the next CM candidate for the BJP, Tarun Gogoi said on Saturday.
Gogoi headed a bench which delivered the verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case that gave Hindus the 2.77 acre disputed land for construction of Ram Temple, and directed that Muslims be given a 5-acre land at a "prominent location" to build a mosque in the city.
The BJP, however, said that what the 85-year-old Congress leader said is not true.
"People say many meaningless things when they become very old. There is no truth in what Tarun Gogoi said about the former CJI becoming the BJPs chief ministerial candidate," the saffron partys state unit president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said.
Tarun Gogoi also said that he is not going to be the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress.
"I will contest the elections but I will not be the chief ministerial candidate. There are several qualified candidates in the party for that. I can only be a guiding force or act as an advisor," he said.
A common candidate can also be projected from the proposed 'grand alliance' comprising the Congress, the AIUDF, the Left and other like-minded political parties, he said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
