Guwahati, 3rd March:The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, announcing contenders for 11 seats in Assam. However, notable exclusions from the list have stirred discussions as five incumbent MPs have been overlooked for tickets this time.
Rameswar Teli, the current Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been replaced in the Dibrugarh constituency by Union Ports & Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
In the highly contested Guwahati seat, Queen Ojha has been substituted by Bijuli Kalita Medhi, the former deputy mayor of Guwahati Municipal Corporation and ex-president of the Assam BJP’s Mahila Morcha.
The hill constituency of Diphu sees incumbent MP Haren Sing Bey being replaced by Amar Sing Tiso as the BJP’s candidate.
In Silchar, Rajdeep Roy has been superseded by cabinet minister Parimal Suklabaidya, who currently holds the portfolio of forests, fisheries, and excise in the Assam government.
Lastly, in the Sonitpur constituency, Ranjit Dutta has been designated as the BJP’s candidate, replacing Pallab Lochan Das, who has represented the constituency since its previous delineation as Tezpur constituency.
The BJP’s first list for the Assam Lok Sabha polls allocates candidates for 11 out of 14 seats, reserving three seats for its allies, the AGP and UPPL.
As per the BJP’s announcement, Bijuli Kalita Medhi will contest from the Guwahati Lok Sabha seat, Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa from Kaziranga, Tapan Gogoi from Jorhat, Ranjit Dutta from Tezpur, Udalguri-Dilip Saikia from Darang, Kripanath Mallah from Karimganj, Parimal Suklabaidya from Silchar, Suresh Bora from Nagaon, Pradan Barua from Lakhimpur, and Amar Singh Tiso from Diphu.