CM Sarma heads to Delhi as BJP prepares Assam poll list by March 18

Guwahati, March 16: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to finalise its list of candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, with the party’s Parliamentary Board expected to release the nominees on Wednesday evening.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the party will hold its first meeting on Tuesday to discuss candidate selection and nominations.

“Tomorrow there will be the first meeting over tickets and nominations. The party’s Parliamentary Board will publish the BJP candidate list on Wednesday evening,” Sarma told the press on Monday during a visit to a Durga temple in Rani before leaving for New Delhi.

He indicated that the party is in the final stages of preparing the list and that the names are likely to be announced largely in a single phase.

“There will be names in one list only. There could be exceptions if one or two constituencies are left pending,” the Chief Minister said.

Sarma also confirmed that he would travel to the national capital later in the day for discussions related to the candidate selection process.

“I will depart for Delhi today,” he said, indicating that the visit was linked to discussions on finalising the party’s list of candidates.

Responding to questions about reports that Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi had written to the party’s high command expressing dissatisfaction over internal issues, Sarma launched a sharp attack on the Opposition party.

“No Hindu leader will be able to stay in Congress. It does not have that atmosphere. I think by 2030, no one would be able to find one Hindu leader in the party. Gradually, everyone will take leave from it,” he said.

The Chief Minister added that he had not spoken to Bordoloi yet as the latter is currently a sitting Member of Parliament.

“I have not talked to Bordoloi yet because he is a sitting MP. He will lose his seat if he enters BJP. That’s why I have set 2029 as the timeline for him,” Sarma said.

He also criticised the internal functioning of the Congress, claiming that the situation within the party had deteriorated after the appointment of its new president.

“The atmosphere within Congress is very bad. Since the new president assumed his position, his thought process is different and has no connection with the public. People are not happy,” Sarma said.

The remarks come amid a controversy within the Congress over the Lahorighat Assembly ticket, after Bordoloi reportedly expressed displeasure with the party leadership over the issue and warned that he could quit the party if the matter was not resolved.

According to reports, the Congress MP has travelled to New Delhi to raise the issue with the party’s high command, highlighting internal tensions within the party ahead of the Assembly elections.