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Congress, BJP name candidates for Rajya Sabha polls in Assam
The BJP has named its spokesperson Pabitra Margherita for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats that will fall vacant on April 2. While Margherita’s victory is almost certain, the BJP’s alliance partner UPPL’s Rwngwra Narzary and the Congress’ Ripun Bora will have to battle it out for the second seat.
GUWAHATI: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the opposition Congress have announced names of their candidates for elections to the two Rajya Sabha seats from Assam which will take place on March 31.
The BJP has named its spokesperson Pabitra Margherita for one of the two seats while its alliance partner United Peoples Party Liberal’s (UPPL) candidate Rwngwra Narzary will contest for the next seat.
The Congress, which has the support of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), has named member of Parliament (MP) and former state unit president Ripun Bora for the contest.
Margherita is an actor and a prominent name in the music and film industry of Assam, having produced many songs and films. He was the former chairman of Jyoti Chitrabon, a government-run movie studio, as well as member secretary of the state-level advisory committee for student and youth welfare.
“If I win, I will try to play an active part in parliament to highlight my party’s ideology, focus on the hopes and aspirations of my state and its people and since I belong to a cultural background, I will also raise issues related to Assam’s rich culture, diversity and history,” Margherita told HT.
Narzary is the working president of UPPL and chairman of the Kajalgaon municipal board. He is a former president of All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), the premier student body of the Bodo tribe.
“I am very grateful to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and my leader Rahul Gandhi for re-nominating me as the party’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha election from Assam. I am seeking blessings from all Congress leaders and party workers,” Bora tweeted on Saturday.
The two Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant after the tenures of Congress MPs Ripun Bora and Ranee Narah end on April 2.
While Margherita’s victory is almost certain, Narzary and Bora will have to battle it out for the second seat.
A party or alliance needs at least 43 votes to win one Rajya Sabha seat in Assam. The Congress and opposition parties have 43 votes while the BJP and its allies have 82 votes.
The state has a total of seven Rajya Sabha seats. Besides the two held by Bora and Narah, three are with the BJP (Sarbananda Sonowal, Bhubaneswar Kalita and Kamakhya Prasad Tasa), one with the BJP’s ally Asom Gana Parishad (Birendra Prasad Baishya) and one with Anchalik Gana Morcha (Ajit Kumar Bhuyan).
