NEW DELHI: The Congress has finalised its first list of 45 candidates for the high-stakes Assembly elections in Assam, with most sitting MLAs expected to be retained. However, party sources indicated that the formal announcement of the list may be deferred until the BJP releases its candidate names.
According to party insiders, the decisions were taken during a virtual meeting of the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) on Friday, held via Zoom. Senior leaders reviewed feedback from the state unit and screening committee before clearing the names, said a leader.
Sources indicated that the delay in officially releasing the list is part of a broader electoral strategy. By waiting for the BJP to announce its candidates first, the Congress hopes to fine-tune its final adjustments. The CEC meeting also discussed candidates for the newly created Binnakandi and Khowang assembly seats. While the party was reportedly considering allotting these constituencies to its allies, the move has led to discontent among sections of party workers.
According to sources, the candidature of the sons of Nagaon Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain also came up during the meeting.
While the Congress is expected to contest around 100 seats, negotiations with allies are still underway, and seat-sharing arrangements have triggered unrest within the party’s state unit. On Thursday, party workers protested against the proposal to leave the Sarupathar and Bhawanipur-Sorbhog seats to the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the CPM, respectively.
In Golaghat, Assam state unit president Gaurav Gogoi was reportedly gheraoed by party workers who opposed vacating the Sarupathar seat for an ally.
The CEC meeting came days after senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra chaired the first meeting of the screening committee for Assam on February 23. Priyanka, who heads the AICC screening committee for the state, held marathon interactions with party leaders and functionaries during her two-day visit to Assam last week. The screening panel meeting was attended by AICC in-charge for Assam Jitendra Singh, AICC secretaries Manoj Chauhan, Prithviraj Sathe, Vikas Upadhyay, Gogoi, and CLP leader Debabrata Saikia.
During her visit, Priyanka Gandhi also met grassroots workers from block and district units and sought feedback on potential candidates. Several local leaders and party workers shared their assessments with the screening committee. Elections to the 126 seats of the state assembly are likely to be held in April.