Following the completion of the Lok Sabha polls in Assam, parties in the State are now focussing on the two Rajya Sabha seats which are set to fall vacant next month.

The seats are currently held by Congress members Santiuse Kujur and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Their terms will come to an end on June 14.

The Election Commission is likely to issue a notification soon for holding polls for the two seats, said sources.

The Asom Gana Parishad, meanwhile, has reminded the Bharatiya Janata Party of an agreement that was inked between the two parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The AGP supported the BJP on 10 Lok Sabha seats, while it contested on three. As part of seat-sharing pact it was agreed that one of the Rajya Sabha seats would be given to the AGP.

“There was an agreement ahead of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP will give one Rajya Sabha seat to us. Accordingly, we fielded only three candidates and helped the BJP candidates on 10 seats. Now the time has come to remind them about the agreement,” AGP general secretary Ramendra Narayan Kalita said.

Mr. Kalita’s statement assumes significance as BJP legislator from the Bokajan constituency, Numal Momin, had recently claimed that his party will name nominees for the two seats.

The Congress is unlikely to field anyone this time as it does not have the required number to ensure victory of its candidate, a senior party leader said. “We do not have the required number to ensure victory even if we put up a candidate. So I think the party is going to refrain from putting up candidates for Rajya Sabha [seats from Assam] this time,” he added.

Numbers game

A candidate requires at least 43 first preference votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat. While the Congress has 25 legislators in the House, the All India United Democratic Front has 13 legislators.

The ruling BJP has 61 MLAs in the 126-member Assembly. Its allies, AGP and Bodoland Peoples Front, have 14 and 12 members each. The BJP-led alliance also has the support of Independent legislators.