BJP releases list of candidates for Assam, CM Sonowal seeks reelection from Majuli

In Assam assembly polls, CM Sarbananda Sonowal to contest from Majuli, Himanta Biswa Sarma seeks re-election from Jalukbari

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday announced its list of candidates for 70 out of the 90 seats it is likely to contest in the upcoming assembly elections. Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal will seek re-election from Majuli, a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, and state finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will also aim to retain Jalukbari from where he had won in the previous assembly elections in 2016.

Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarmah with chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in this file picture seen presenting State Budget in the Assembly, in Guwahati. (PTI)

The list also showed that the state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass will be contesting from Patacharkuchi. Out of the BJP’s list of 70 candidates, four are women while one candidate is from the Muslim community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda had held meetings over the course of two days to decide the seat-sharing between BJP and its allies. BJP is likely to contest the elections from 90 seats while allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United Peoples Party Liberal and Gana Suraksha Party are likely to get 26 seats, 7 seats and 1 seat respectively, people familiar with the matter told HT earlier on Friday.

BJP’s state party secretary Arun Singh, while addressing a press conference after releasing the names, said that 11 sitting MLAs have been dropped and new candidates have been chosen to represent those constituencies, according to news agency PTI.

Assembly elections in Assam will be held in three phases from March 27. The elections for the 126-legislative assembly will be held on March 27, April 1, and April 6. The votes will be counted on May 2.