GUWAHATI: Assam's ruling BJP on Tuesday named minister Jogen Mohan and MLA Terash Gowala as its candidates for Rajya Sabha elections to two of the three seats. Both hail from upper Assam where the BJP faces a challenge in Assembly elections, expected next month.
Mohan belongs to the Ahom community while Gowala is from the Tea Tribe community. Both communities have a large number of voters in upper Assam.
“Congratulations to my colleague in the Cabinet, @JogenMohanAssam, and the Hon’ble Member of the Assam Vidhan Sabha, Terash Gowala, on securing our party’s nomination for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X. He said the two, coming from the grassroots, demonstrated a track record of public service.
He was confident that they would make valuable contributions to enrich the parliamentary processes. Sarma expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Nitin Nabin for these “exceptional nominations.” Talking to media persons earlier in the day, the chief minister said that the duo would file their nominations on Thursday.
The BJP wants its ally United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) to contest in the third seat. “If (UPPL chief) Pramod Boro or anyone (from the party) files nomination in the third seat, we will not oppose it. They have informed us that they might contest but has not yet conveyed their (final) decision,” Sarma said, admitting that the BJP cannot win the third seat as it does not have the numbers. “Therefore, if Pramod Boro contests, that will be fine for us,” Sarma further stated.
The UPPL confirmed that it would contest the polls. “The UPPL will contest the polls but the decision on who will be its candidate is still undecided. The party will discuss the matter and take a call by tomorrow,” Boro told TNIE.
However, the victory of the UPPL candidate will depend largely on the support of MLAs from the opposition parties. The terms of incumbent MPs Bhubaneswar Kalita, Rameswar Teli and Ajit Kumar Bhuyan will expire soon, necessitating the polls. The Chief Minister announced that Teli could be the BJP’s candidate in the Duliajan seat, which Gowala represents, in Assembly polls.