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RS polls: 3 NDA candidates file nominations in Assam; 3 Congress MLAs join BJP
The three seats from Assam will fall vacant on April 9 with the retirement of sitting MPs Bhubaneswar Kalita and Rameswar Teli of the BJP and Ajit Kumar Bhuyan of the Assam Gana Morcha
Three candidates backed by the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from Assam filed their nominations on Thursday for the upcoming March 16 Rajya Sabha elections.
The candidates include Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominees Jogen Mohan and Terash Gowalla, and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) president Pramod Boro, who is contesting as an independent candidate backed by the alliance.
With the deadline for filing nominations ending on Thursday and no rival candidates entering the fray, all three are set to be elected unopposed to the Upper House of Parliament once the scrutiny process is completed.
The three seats from Assam will fall vacant on April 9 with the retirement of sitting MPs Bhubaneswar Kalita and Rameswar Teli of the BJP and Ajit Kumar Bhuyan of the Assam Gana Morcha.
Jogen Mohan belongs to Assam’s largest Ahom community. He is currently the MLA from Mahmora constituency in Upper Assam’s Sivasagar district and serves as a minister in the chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam cabinet. He was also a minister in the Sarbananda Sonowal government.
Terash Gowalla, on the other hand, belongs to the tea garden community and represents the Duliajan constituency in the Assam legislative assembly. Gowalla was previously associated with the Asom Gana Parishad before joining the BJP.
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By nominating Gowalla, the BJP replaces outgoing Rajya Sabha MP Rameswar Teli, another prominent tea tribe leader, signalling its effort to maintain support among tea garden communities.
Pramod Boro, president of the United People’s Party Liberal and a key NDA ally in Assam who earlier served as the Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Region, is contesting for the Rajya Sabha for the first time.
Congress MLAs join BJP
Three Congress MLAs on Thursday formally joined the BJP, and CM Sarma said the party had waited for the Rajya Sabha polls before allowing them to switch sides.
“They were openly supporting us and travelling with me to many places. We wanted them to remain in the Congress till the Rajya Sabha election, and now when our candidates are winning uncontested, these three are joining us,” he said.
The three Congress MLAs, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Basanta Das and Sashikanta Das, joined the BJP in Guwahati.
The BJP on Wednesday evening finalised panels of probable candidates for 90 assembly constituencies in the state, and according to the chief minister, the names of these three MLAs have also been included in the list.
“We have prepared the list for 90 constituencies and will send it to Delhi. The central election committee, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will take the final decision. The names of these three are there in the list and they can be candidates in the upcoming state polls,” Sarma said.
The list of 90 constituencies does not include the 15 seats in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), where seat-sharing discussions within the NDA remain underway. Talks with the BJP’s long-time ally Asom Gana Parishad are also part of the ongoing negotiations.
Sarma said discussions with alliance partners, including the AGP and the Bodoland People’s Front, have largely been completed and there will be no friendly contests among NDA partners.
