The Congress in Assam released its third list of 22 candidates on Thursday, bringing its total tally to 87 for next month’s election to the 126-seat assembly.
Among the 22 names in Thursday’s list was sitting legislator Asif Mohamad Nazar, who has been again fielded from the Laharighat assembly segment.
Nagaon Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi had opposed giving the Laharighat ticket to Nazar and threatened to quit the party if this was done. Bordoloi, who headed the Assam Congress’s panel to frame the manifesto, however, did not wait for the party to make the decision and crossed over to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday. The BJP subsequently fielded Bordoloi from Dispur.
The Congress handed the Ranganadi seat to Jayanta Khaund, a former Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) heavyweight who hopped over to the Congress earlier this month.
The third list also contains the names of the sitting MLAs: the party’s working president, Jakir Hussain Sikdar, from the Pakabetbari seat; Aftab Uddin Mollah (Jaleshwar); Abdur Rahim Ahmed (Chenga); and Pradip Sarkar (Abhayapuri).
The Congress has left 15 seats for its alliance partners, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI (M), and All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), and is in the midst of efforts to bring the Raijor Dal into the four-party Opposition alliance.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress has left 15 seats for its alliance partners, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI (M), and All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), and is in the midst of efforts to bring the Raijor Dal into the four-party Opposition alliance.
{{/usCountry}}Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, who held another meeting with Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi on Thursday, said the efforts were on.
“There should be no problem if we manage to reach a consensus. It all depends on whether we can reach one,” said Gaurav. “The people of Assam want to see a united Opposition, and I am making my best personal efforts to stitch together a broad united coalition of opposition parties,” he added.
Akhil Gogoi added that Gaurav had supported their demand for giving 13 seats to the Raijor Dal but had yet to receive a decision from the party leadership.
“We have decided that we should work together, but the talks on Thursday remained inconclusive. There was no decision as Gaurav Gogoi has proposed 13 seats to us, but since no approval has come yet from the Congress leadership, the matter remains undecided,” Akhil said.