Cong declares 12 candidates for Assam Gaurav Gogoi shifts to Jorhat

Guwahati, Mar 12 (PTI) Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi has moved out from his Kaliabor constituency and will contest from Jorhat in Assam during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the party said on Tuesday.
     Prominent Congress leader, former Assam minister and sitting MP from Nagaon seat, Pradyut Bordoloi has been nominated to contest from the same constituency.
     Out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress announced candidates for 12 seats. It has offered one seat to alliance partner Assam Jatiya Parishad, while no decision has been taken yet on the remaining constituency.
     Gogoi is a Lok Sabha MP from Kaliabor, which has been rechristened as Kaziranga after the delimitation exercise last year. He will contest against incumbent BJP MP Topon Kumar Gogoi in the neighbouring prestigious Jorhat seat.
     "I would like to express my gratitude to my party the @INCIndia for the opportunity to serve the people of Jorhat. On this important day, I remember my father, the former Chief Minister of Assam Late Shri Tarun Gogoi," the Congress leader said on X along with a photograph of the father-son duo.
     "I strive to uphold his unwavering belief in the Congress ideology and his vision for a prosperous Assam. In the days to come, I am confident that my party and all our hardworking supporters will become pillars of strength for me. I seek the blessing and support of the people of Jorhat for the days to come," he added.
     Congress has named Roselina Tirkey from Kaziranga. She is a former one-time MLA from Sarupathar Assembly constituency and a prominent young leader of the tea tribe community. Her direct contest will be against BJP's Rajya Sabha Member Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, nominated by the ruling party.
     Incumbent MP Bordoloi's direct fight will be against his erstwhile confidante Suresh Bora, who was in Congress and joined the BJP around two months back.
     Bora was the Nagaon district president of Congress and had unsuccessfully contested Assembly polls thrice from Barhampur.
     "The party has once again entrusted a heavy responsibility upon me to dedicate myself to the service of the people of Assam. I am ready to contest the election with the blessings of Maa Kamakhya. The blessings of all the people will be the ultimate source of strength for me in this journey," Bordoloi said in a post on X.
     In the high-profile Guwahati constituency, the opposition party has named Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress (APMC) president Mira Barthakur Goswami, a first-timer.
     She is likely to have a direct contest with BJP's new face Bijuli Kalita Medhi, who is a Vice President of Assam BJP and the former president of the party's women wing in the state.
     Goswami in a post on Facebook thanked all the senior leaders of the Assam Congress as well as the party's central leadership.
     This will be the first election in Assam after the Election Commission of India carried out the delimitation exercise only for Assam last year which was strongly criticised by the opposition parties alleging that it was done to help the ruling BJP only.
     The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nine MPs in the current Lok Sabha from the state, while its allies AGP and UPPL have no representation. The Congress holds three seats and the AIUDF one, while another is an Independent candidate.
     The Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Assam and a former minister in Tarun Gogoi's cabinet, Rakibul Hussain will contest the Lok Sabha election for the first time from Dhubri, a bastion of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).
     Hussain is likely to face a triangular contest with AIUDF chief and incumbent MP Badruddin Ajmal and ruling alliance Asom Gana Parishad's Zabed Islam, a former Assam MLA.
     Sitting Congress MP from Barpeta, Abdul Khaleque has been denied a ticket this time and Deep Bayan will fight the polls from the linguistically as well as religiously sensitive constituency. Bayan is the President of Assam Pradesh Congress Seva Dal and a senior spokesperson of the APCC.
     Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, a prominent lawyer who joined the Congress a couple of months ago, will contest from Karimganj seat. He was a senior leader of the AIUDF, before going on to head the Assam state unit of the Samajwadi Party for a few years.
     His direct contest will be against incumbent BJP MP Kripanath Mallah.
     Garjan Mushahary, named as a Congress candidate for Kokrajhar (ST), was chief convener of People's Joint Action Committee for Bodoland Movement and joined the grand old party in 2021. The PJACBM had spearheaded the movement for Bodoland state demand along with other groups.
     Congress has named Madhab Rajbangshi for the Darrang-Udalguri seat against BJP's sitting MP Dilip Saikia. Rajbongshi is a two-time Congress MP from erstwhile Mangaldoi and had briefly switched sides to the AGP for a few years but later came back to the Congress fold again.
     The opposition party has pitted former BJP MLA, Joyram Engleng, against BJP first-timer Amarsing Tisso in Diphu (ST). Engleng, who had joined the Congress in 2023, is a former Chief Executive Member of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, while Tisso is an existing Executive Member of the body.
     Young Congress leader and General Secretary of the district committee Surjya Kanta Sarkar will contest from Silchar (SC). He is likely to have a tough fight against Assam Excise, Transport and Fisheries Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, who carries a clean image and is a party old timer from the Barak valley.
     For Sonitpur, the Congress has nominated Prem Lal Ganju, the General Secretary of the party's state unit. His direct fight will be against BJP's former state minister and sitting MLA Ranjit Dutta, who will contest in the general elections for the first time.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)