Guwahati: The Congress party has officially announced former BJP leader Jayanta Bora as its candidate for the upcoming by-election in the Behali constituency of Assam, despite Bora not having formally joined the party yet.
Bora’s candidacy follows his recent resignation from the BJP after being denied a ticket for the elections, with plans to join Congress later today.
A statement from AICC general secretary KC Venugopal confirmed Bora’s nomination for Behali. This decision comes amid significant tensions within the opposition alliance, Asom Sonmilito Morcha (ASOM), regarding the distribution of seats for the by-elections.
Originally, the agreement within ASOM stipulated that Congress would contest four of the five available seats, with the CPI(ML) Liberation party fielding a candidate for Behali.
However, some local Congress leaders in Biswanath district opposed this arrangement, advocating for their own candidate. They proposed either Dilip Kumar Baruah or Premlal Ganju as alternatives.
A five-member committee formed by the opposition coalition declined to alter the decision to nominate a CPI(ML) candidate for Behali and demanded confirmation from the AICC.
This led to state Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah resigning from his position in ASOM, citing “tremendous pressure” after the party leadership rejected the opposition’s nominee, Bibek Das from CPI(ML).
Despite the internal strife, it appears that party MP Gaurav Gogoi supported Bora’s nomination. The by-elections are set for November 13 in several constituencies, including Dholai, Sidli, Bongaigaon, Behali, and Samaguri, which became vacant following the recent Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress party plans to field additional candidates for these elections: Tanzil Hussain from Samaguri, Dhrubajyoti Purakayastha from Dholai, Sanjib Warle from Sidli, and Brajenjit Sinha from Bongaigaon. The BJP-AGP-UPPL coalition previously held four of the five constituencies up for grabs in this by-election, while one was held by Congress.