Rajya Sabha Polls: BJP shortlists 10–12 names for two seats, final call in Delhi

Guwahati, Feb 22: The Bharatiya Janata Party will suggest 10 to 12 names for two of the three Rajya Sabha seats ahead of the polls on March 16.

Informing this after a meeting of the BJP’s state election committee on Saturday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the shortlisted names would be forwarded to the party’s central parliamentary board through state president Dilip Saikia on Sunday.

"The names will be finalised by the central leadership,” he said.

The Chief Minister clarified that while two seats will be contested by BJP candidates, the party is also keen to contest the third seat after assessing the numbers in the Assembly and whether the Congress field a joint candidate.

“If Congress does not field a joint candidate, our selection would be easy.” he said.

Referring to the previous Rajya Sabha election, Sarma noted that the BJP had decided not to contest, allowing Ajit Kumar Bhuyan to get elected unopposed.

“However, the present political atmosphere has changed. We will take a decision based on the Opposition’s move,” he added.

On alliance dynamics, Sarma said the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) has not demanded any Rajya Sabha seat.

Responding to discussions on whether district BJP presidents would be barred from contesting elections, Sarma said exceptions could be made.

“If there are strong public demands for district presidents in certain constituencies and there is a lack of a suitable party candidate, the parliamentary board has the authority to make exemptions,” he said, adding that the party has already completed its public outreach campaign.

Shifting his focus on ongoing alliance talks of the Opposition, the Chief Minister alleged internal conflict within the Opposition alliance over seat-sharing in minority-dominated constituencies.

He claimed that both the Congress and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi are keen to contest from seats such as Dolgaon, Dhing, Jania and Goalpara East, among others.

“They are not fighting over Jorhat or Dibrugarh. Their fight is over minority seats. This shows that minorities are seen as vote banks by both parties,” Sarma alleged.

He further claimed that disagreements among Opposition leaders surfaced even in the presence of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, with meetings reportedly continuing till 3 am to resolve seat-sharing disputes.

Vadra, also the chairperson of the Congress screening committee, was in the state for a two-day visit that concluded on February 22.

After she left for New Delhi, the state Congress’ top leadership was also summoned to the national capital for a meeting that many saw as a strategic huddle focused on seat-sharing among Opposition parties.