BJP names 88 candidates for Assam polls, drops 18 sitting MLAs

Guwahati: The ruling BJP has released its list of 88 candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, denying tickets to 18 sitting MLAs.

While two MLAs were renominated to the Upper House, BJP MLA Bidya Sing Engleng from Diphu passed away. The party has fielded Niso Terangpi from this seat.

Jogen Mahan MLA from Mahmora has moved to the Upper House and Suruj Dehingia has been fielded from this seat. BJP MLA from Duliajan, Terash Gowala, has gone to the Rajya Sabha and former Union minister Rameswar Teli has been fielded.


Former state BJP president and MLA from Guwahati East, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, has been dropped. Following the delimitation exercise of 2023, Guwahati East is redrawn into Guwahati Central, where BJP's organisational leader Vijay Gupta has been given a ticket.

West Guwahati seat has ceased to exist now and rechristened as New Guwahati seat. This was taken away from ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and BJP have fielded Diplu Ranjan Sharma who is presently Samaguri MLA.

Prominent among those dropped include Atul Bora, Hemanga Thakuria, Numal Momin, Aomiya Bhuyan, Ganesh Limbu, Phani Talukdar, Pramod Borthakur, Nandita Gorlosa and Ramkrishna Ghosh.

While Sanjoy Kisan MLA from Tinsukia has been shifted to Makum, Pulok Gohain has been fielded from Tinsukia.

Four Congress leaders who recently switched to BJP have been given tickets. This includes Pradyut Bordoloi (Dispur), Bhupen Kumar Borah (Bihpuria), Kamalakya Dey Purkayastha (Katigorah) and Sashi Kanta Das (Raha).

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will fight from Jalukbari. Finance Minister Ajanta Neog has been fielded again from Golaghat, while other key faces include Ranoj Pegu (Dhemaji), Pijush Hazarika (Jagiroad) and Ashok Singhal (Dhekiajuli).

Former Lok Sabha MP Rajdeep Roy will fight from Silchar, former state BJP chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass will contest from Bhowanipur-Sobhog seat and Speaker Biswajit Daimary will fight from Tamulpur.

Six women have been fielded --Madhavi Das (Birsing-Jarua), Jyostna Kalita (Chaygaon), Nilima Devi (Mangaldai), Ajanta Neog (Golaghat), Niso Terangpi (Diphu) and Rupali Langthasa (Haflong).

Dholai MLA Nihar Ranjan Das has resigned from the party's primary membership. The resignation comes after the BJP fielded Amiya Kanti Das from Dholai. Senior BJP leader Jayanta Kumar Das, who was in contention for the Dispur seat said he will quit the party. Sarma said the BJP has left 26 seats for AGP while Bodoland People's Front (BPF) will contest 11 seats. "We have not declared the names for one seat which we will declare soon."

Prateek Bordoloi not to contest on Cong ticket after father Pradyut joins BJP

After Assam MP Pradyut Bordoloi quit the Congress to join the BJP, his son Prateek has decided not to contest as a nominee of the grand old party from Margherita assembly constituency in the upcoming assembly polls.

In a letter to Congress president and chairman of the Central Election Committee Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, Prateek said he would continue to remain a party member.