Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday announced its list of 88 candidates for the upcoming Assam assembly elections, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma set to contest from his traditional Jalukbari seat.The name of the candidate from Sissiborgaon constituency has been withheld. Under the new seat sharing arrangement, BJP will contest 89 seats, AGP 26, and BPF 11 in the 126-member assembly. Among prominent candidates, Pradyut Bordoloi, who days before quit as Congress Lok Sabha MP to join the BJP, has been fielded from the Dispur assembly constituency.Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary will contest from the Tamulpur (ST) seat, while another leader of switched sides from Congress to BJP Bhupen Borah has been nominated from Bihpuria. Borah also served as Congress Assam chief. The list includes several key names and signals a mix of continuity and change, with the party dropping 11 sitting MLAs and fielding only five women candidates.The announcement comes after the Election Commission declared the poll schedule last week. Voting for the 126-member Assam assembly will be held in a single phase on April 9, with counting slated for May 4.The BJP is seeking to retain power in the state, with Sarma aiming for another term as chief minister. In the 2021 elections, the National Democratic Alliance, comprising the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad and United People’s Party Liberal, secured 75 seats, with the BJP winning 60.With an eye on consolidating the NDA before polls, the BJP on Tuesday brought back Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) into its fold after five years and firmed up seat-sharing with AGP, even as its current partner in govt, Bodoland-based United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), left the NDA earlier, citing ideological differences. The opposition Congress has already announced candidates for 65 constituencies as part of its alliance strategy, with state chief and Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi leading the campaign.
