Guwahati: Half of the 40 candidates whose names have been announced on the first list of Congress for Assam elections are fresh faces, while the party will consult the relatives of former Prime Minister Tarun Gogoi before deciding on a nominee for the Titabor seat held by him for four years. consecutive terms before his death.
The big old party announced on Saturday night the first list of 40 candidates for the 47 constituencies that will vote in the first phase on March 27.
The list includes the names of 20 new faces and six sitting MLAs, including Debabrata Saikia, leader of the Congress legislature in Nazira.
The BJP is monitoring the coveted Titabor seat, which was held by the three-time prime minister who died as a result of post-COVID complications on November 23 last year, while Congress wants to keep it.
Apart from Titabor, the names of candidates for Tinsukia, Dhakuakhana, Behali, Dhing and Bokakhat and the AIOBF-Naoboicha have yet to be announced.
A decision on these seats will be made soon. Some of these constituencies will be given to alliance partners, a congressional spokesman said.
Apart from Saikia, the legislators who have been reappointed are former Minister Rakibul Hussain in Samaguri, Md Nurul Huda in Rupohihat, Rupjyoti Kurmi in Mariani, Roselina Tirkey in Sarupathar and Durga Bhumij in Doomdooma.
Golaghat is witnessing interesting developments as former minister and incumbent MLA Ajanta Neog has left Congress to contest the ballot boxes on a BJP ticket, while former AGP candidate Bitupan Saikia, who joined the BJP after being ousted by Neog in the 2016 election was defeated by a narrow margin of 5,213. votes, switched to Congress and got a party ticket.
State Congressman and Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora will contest the Gohpur seat where his wife Monica Bora was defeated by the BJP candidate by almost 30,000 votes.
The party also gave tickets to 12 candidates, including four women who lost by a narrow margin during the 2016 elections. These include Rana Goswami in Jorhat, Sushanta Borgohain in Thowra, Suruj Dehinga in Mahmara, Bhupen Kumar Borah in Bihpuria, Praneswar Basumatary in Sootea, Dhruba Gogoi in Duliajan and Etuwa Munda in Tingkhong.
In the Majuli seat, the party renamed Ranoj Kumar Pegu, who had represented it for three consecutive terms since 2001, but was defeated by Prime Minister Sarbananda Sonowal by more than 18,000 votes in the 2016 election.
The four women nominated by the party from the same constituencies as they lost in the last election are former ministers Pranatee Phukan in Naharkatiya, Bismita Gogoi in Khumtai, Pallabi Gogoi in Teok and Angkita Dutta in Amguri.
The only new female candidate in the first phase of the polls is Sibamoni Bora, who was fielded against actor-sitting BJP MLA Angoorlata Deka in the Batadroba constituency.
In addition to Bitupan Saikia in Golaghat, the party also put former BJP leader and Tezpur MP Ram Prasad Sarma, who recently joined Congress, on the seat of Barchalla.
The other candidates of the party are in Dhekiajuli, Tezpur, Rangapara, Bishwanath, Kaliabor, Sonari, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Jonai, Moran, Dibrugarh, Lahowal, Chabua, Digboi, Margherita and Sadiya.
Congress is contesting the upcoming election as part of ‘Grand Alliance’ with the AIUDF, BPF, CPI (M), CPI, CPI-ML and Anchalik Gana Morcha.
The election to the 126-member assembly will be held on March 27, April 1 and April 6 in three phases.
Source: Telangana Today