The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of 86 candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is set to contest from the Jalukbari constituency.
Former state Congress president Bhupen Borah and Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi, who joined the BJP on Wednesday, have been included in the candidates’ list. Bordoloi will contest from Dispur, while Borah has been fielded from Bihpura constituency.
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As per the list, Madhavi Das has been fielded from Birsing-Jarua, Jyotsana Kalita from Chamaria and Nilima Devi from Mangaldai.
The candidates were finalised at a meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee on Wednesday, attended by party president Nitin Nabin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Home Minister Amit Shah. BJP Assam unit chief Dilip Saikia was also present at the meeting.
Bordoloi’s induction into the BJP has dealt a further blow to the Congress, with his son, Prateek Bordoloi, on Thursdy withdrawing his candidacy from the Margherita constituency. In a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Prateek stated that his candidacy would create confusion among the people and the party regarding his commitment, following his father’s resignation from Congress.
Sarma, who himself was previously with Congress, has represented the Jalukbari seat for five terms. He won it thrice as a Congress candidate before joining the BJP in 2015. The constituency, part of the Gauhati Lok Sabha seat, includes both urban and rural voters. In the 2021 elections, Sarma secured a record win from the seat with a margin of over one lakh votes.