Congress yet to finalise lists for Assam polls

Though the opposition parties have come out with preliminary lists, ruling Congress is yet to finalise its candidates.

With just a week left for the last day for filing nominations for Assembly polls, political parties in Assam are yet to finalise their lists of candidates.

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Though the opposition parties have come out with preliminary lists, ruling Congress is yet to finalise its candidates to be selected by its central election committee headed by party president Sonia Gandhi.

According to chief minister Tarun Gogoi, the APCC had shortlisted the names of the candidates for at least 80 constituencies and also submitted a draft of the election manifesto for the two-phase assembly election on April 3 and 10.

Caught unprepared by the announcement of the polls, the parties were either in the process of finalising their own list of hopefuls or attempting to enter into understandings on seat adjustment with like-minded ones, though no major front or alliance had been worked out.

Main opposition Asom Gana Parishad's (AGP), which hopes to defeat ruling Congress, suffered a set back in Dhemaji.

To the gain of breakaway AGP faction led by former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, AGP's Dhemaji unit president Rabi Gogoi and general secretary Khirod Sonowal along with 40 followers joined the AGP (Progresive).