GUWAHATI: AIUDF has proposed Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s name as the consensus candidate of opposition parties in Assam, PCC president Ripun Bora said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, a Congress insider had said that the party and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) will soon take the final decision on the consensus candidate in a day or two.
The two parties together had already shortlisted two candidates of which one of them would be fielded, the source said.
AIUDF chief and Lok Sabha member Maulana Badruddin Ajmal had said the two allies have already reached an understanding of putting up a consensus candidate.
Interestingly, before Priyanka’s name was proposed, the two allies had decided that the candidate should be non-political and has worked for the interests of Assam.
Two names had come up — journalist Ajit Kumar Bhuyan and Jayanta Baruah, who is the owner of Sadin-Pratidin media group.
But, Baruah said he had no intention to contest the elections, adding that his name invariably gets cropped up during every Rajya Sabha election.
In the 126-member Assam House, BJP and allies with 87 MLAs will win two seats.
The third seat will go to the opposition parties only if they field a consensus candidate and there is no division of votes due to horse-trading.