On Thursday, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its list of 88 candidates for next month’s Assam assembly election, including former Congress leaders Bhupen Kumar Borah and Pradyut Bordoloi, four days before the March 23 nomination deadline. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will contest from Jalukbari. (X) The party is contesting 89 of the 126 seats, leaving 37 for its allies Asom Gana Parishad (26) and Bodoland Peoples Front (11). The candidate for Sissiborgaon has yet to be decided. “We’ll finalize that shortly,” said Assam BJP chief Dilip Saikia. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will contest from Jalukbari near Guwahati, where he has won five straight elections since 2001. Borah, who joined the BJP last month, will contest from Bihpuria. Pradyut Bordoloi, the former Congress Lok Sabha member from Nagaon who resigned and defected on Wednesday, has been nominated for the Dispur seat. Turncoat Congress legislators Sashi Kanta Das and Kamalakhya De Purkayastha have received tickets for Raha and Katigorah, respectively. Another Congress legislator, Basanta Das—who switched to the BJP last month—is absent from the list. Former assembly speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami is contesting against Congress state chief Gaurav Gogoi in Jorhat. The list features five women, whereas 18 lawmakers have been refused tickets. Veteran lawmaker Atul Bora, denied a ticket, stated he might run as an independent or back the Congress candidate from Dispur. Pradyut Bordoloi has been selected as the BJP candidate for Dispur, replacing Bora.
