Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who took a hiatus from the Jharkhand poll campaign, addressed two substantial rallies on Wednesday for the BJP’s allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL) candidates, for the Bongaigaon and Sidli assembly seats in the upcoming bypolls in the respective constituencies and exuded confidence in retaining the seats. The elections are scheduled to be held next week.
Sarma, who led a massive rally in Dholai for BJP candidate Nihar Ranjan Das on Tuesday, continued his campaign efforts by rallying for AGP candidate Deeptimoiyee Choudhury in Bongaingaon and UPPL candidate Nirmal Brahma in Sidli. Deeptimoiyee, the spouse of former eight-time MLA from Bongaingaon and current Barpeta MP Phani Bhushan Choudhury, will contest against Congress’s Brajenjit Sinha in Bongaingaon, while Brahma will face Congress’s Sanjib Warle in Sidli.
During a media briefing, Sarma expressed confidence that the AGP and UPPL would retain their seats by a substantial margin. He indicated that the NDA was assured of securing four out of five seats, with one constituency posing a challenge. “One can discern whether the momentum favours you when visiting a particular constituency. Presently, the momentum favours NDA,” he elaborated.
Party sources revealed that the BJP faces a challenge in the Samaguri seat, where BJP’s state general secretary Diplu Ranjan Sarma will compete against Congress’s Tanzil Hussain, son of former MLA and current Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain. AGP president and cabinet minister Atul Bora said the Bongaingaon seat has been AGP’s stronghold since 1985. “Phani Bhushan Choudhury secured victories on the AGP ticket from 1985 until 2021. I remain optimistic about AGP receiving the mandate in these bypolls,” he added.
He said Congress or other opposition parties would find it unfeasible to secure the Bongaingaon seat.