Guwahati: On Sunday, the Congress party announced its candidates for four Assembly constituencies in Assam ahead of the bypolls scheduled for November 13. However, the party has not yet named a candidate for the Behali Assembly seat, indicating a possible arrangement with its ally, the CPI (M-L).
The necessity for by-elections arose in five Assembly constituencies—Dholai, Samaguri, Behali, Bongaigaon, and Sidli—following the election of five legislators to the Lok Sabha during this year’s parliamentary polls.
Congress has nominated Dhrubajyoti Purakayastha for the Dholai seat, Sanjib Warle for Sidli, Brajenjit Sinha for Bongaigaon, and Tanzil Hussain for Samaguri. Notably, the Dholai constituency is reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, while Sidli is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST).
Except for Samaguri, which has been a stronghold for Congress leader Rakibul Hussain since2001, the other four constituencies are currently held by the BJP-led alliance. Tanzil Hussain, the candidate for Samaguri, is the son of Rakibul Hussain, who won the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat by a significant margin against three-time AIUDF MP and party chief Badruddin Ajmal earlier this year.
Rakibul Hussain’s influence within the party led to the nomination of his son, Tanzil, in Samaguri. The BJP has previously announced its candidates for three seats: Diplu Ranjan Sarma for Samaguri, Diganta Ghatowar for Behali, and Nihar Ranjan Das for Dholai.
The Dholai seat became vacant after BJP’s former cabinet minister Parimal Suklabaidya won the Silchar Lok Sabha seat, while another senior BJP leader, Ranjit Dutta, was elected to the Lok Sabha, having previously represented Behali in the Assembly.
BJP’s allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), will be contesting Bongaigaon and Sidli Assembly seats, respectively.