NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday released its first list of 88 candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pradyut Bordoloi—who joined the party on Wednesday—among the prominent names.
According to the announcement, Sarma will contest from Jalukbari, while Bordoloi has been fielded from Dispur. The party has nominated six women candidates in its list.
Moreover, Bhupen Kumar Borah, the former Assam Congress chief who joined the BJP in February has been given a ticket from Bihpuria.
The other key candidates include Hitendra Nath Goswami from Jorhat, where he is set to face Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress’ Assam unit chief.
Other candidates include Prasanta Phukan from Dibrugarh, Uttam Prasad from Dhubri, Jayanta Malla Baruah from Nalbari, Sibu Mishra from Lumding, Ranoj Pegu from Dhemaji, Pulok Gohain from Tinsukia, Bhuban Gam from Majuli, Rajdeep Roy from Silchar, and Ajanta Neog from Golaghat.
In a statement, the party said the names were finalised by its Central Election Committee chaired by party president Nitin Nabin, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Home Minister Amit Shah, among other senior leaders.
Soon after the announcement, Sarma congratulated party workers and candidates, expressing gratitude to the leadership for finalising what he described as a “promising list.”
In a post on X, he said the party would work under the guidance of PM Modi to fulfill public aspirations and achieve the goal of a developed Assam.
Assam will go to polls in a single phase on April 9.