Assam on election mode again after four MLAs become MPs

india

Updated: Jun 02, 2019 17:16 IST

The Lok Sabha elections are over and a new government is in place at the Centre. But Assam is set for elections again with four legislators getting elected to the Parliament.

Three MLAs from the ruling BJP - Topon Kumar Gogoi (from Jorhat Lok Sabah constituency), Kripanath Mallah (Karimganj) and Pallab Lochan Das (Tezpur) and Abdul Khaleque of the Congress (Barpeta) won from the state.

Gogoi was the legislator from Sonari, Mallah from Ratabari, Das from Rangapara and Khaleque was MLA from Jania. With their seats now vacant political parties have started the groundwork to find suitable candidates to fill them.

“The bye-elections to these seats are some months away but preliminary talks are already underway at the party level. The high command will take a final decision at an appropriate time,” said a senior office bearer of the BJP’s state unit.

According to BJP leaders, the party is expected to contest all the four seats on its own and not have any seat sharing agreement with coalition partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodo People’s Front (BPF).

The BJP had contested from 10 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state while AGP had contested 3 and BPF from one. While BJP increased its tally from seven in 2014 to nine this time, the allies failed to win any seat.

The Congress, which won three seats this time (same as in 2014) would also contest all the seats on its own with the aim of increasing its tally in the state assembly.

BJP has 61 legislators in the 126-member assembly while Congress has 25 MLAs.

“We haven’t initiated the process yet to find candidates for the four seats. They will be chosen based on extensive discussions with ground level workers and we hope to do well in all the seats,” said Congress’s leader of opposition in state assembly Debabrata Saikia.

Election to the two Rajya Sabha seats, which were with Congress MPs Manmohan Singh and Santiuse Kujur, was scheduled this week with tenures of both set to end on June 14.

But with opposition parties deciding not to field any candidates, BJP’s Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and AGP’s Birendra Prasad Baishya won the seats uncontested last Friday.