GUWAHATI: The BJP on Thursday released the first list of 88 candidates for the April 9 Assam Assembly elections, rewarding four Congress defectors but ignoring 19 MLAs.
The BJP, which is likely to contest from one more seat, offered 26 seats to Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and and 11 seats to Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). The state has a total of 126 Assembly seats.
Former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah, who joined the BJP last month, has been fielded from his pet seat Bihpuria in northern Assam. Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, who had crossed over only on Wednesday, will contest from Dispur seat in Guwahati.
Similarly, former Congress MLAs Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Sashi Kanta Das have been considered for tickets. Purkayastha will contest from Katigorah in southern Assam’s Barak Valley while Das will contest from Raha in central Assam.
Minister Nandita Gorlosa and Assembly Deputy Speaker Numal Momin are among two prominent leaders denied tickets. The others who missed the bus include Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Atul Bora, Hemanga Thakuria, Amiya Kumar Bhuyan, Ganesh Limbu, Phani Talukdar and Pramod Borthakur.
Bhattacharya was the Assam BJP president when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had joined the BJP in 2015 after falling out with the Congress leadership.
Atul Bora, the Dispur MLA, was confident about his renomination. “I am not worried about ticket. Everyone must understand that I will get a ticket. Birds, trees, jungles, tigers, bears, dogs, cats, cows and goats know that Atul Bora will get a ticket,” he stated recently.
Mix of experienced leaders and new faces
The list reflects a mix of experienced leaders and new faces as the BJP is eyeing a third straight term in power.
Six women are among the candidates. They are Jyostna Kalita (Chamaria), Nilima Devi (Mangaldai), Rupali Langthasa (Haflong), Niso Terangpi (Diphu), Madhavi Das (Birsing-Jarua constituency) and minister Ajanta Neog (Golaghat).
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will contest from his Jalukbari seat in Guwahati that he has held since 2001. Senior ministers Chandramohan Patowary will contest from Tihu, Ranjeet Kumar Dass from Bhowanipur-Sorbhog, Jayanta Malla Baruah from Nalbari, Pijush Hazarika from Jagiroad, Bimal Borah from Tingkhong and Prasanta Phukan from Dibrugarh.
The first list was finalised by the BJP’s Central Election Committee. Party president Nitin Nabin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior leaders were reportedly present.