GUWAHATI, March 16: Resentment among ticket aspirants of the BJP now has surfaced after the saffron party announced its third and final list of candidates for the three-phase Assam Assembly elections.
Three-time MLA Pranab Kalita, who has been denied a ticket from Palasbari legislative Assembly constituency, expressed his disappointment for the party’s decision.
“Despite being victorious from the Palasbari seat three times now, the party has chosen not to nominate me this time. Quite naturally, I am disappointed…but I have decided to contest the poll as an Independent candidate from the seat as I have my supporters and well wishers in the constituency,” the incumbent legislator told The Shillong Times on Tuesday.
BJP has instead nominated party ticket for Palasbari to a relatively younger aspirant, Hemanga Thakuria.
Meanwhile, another strong contender, Jayanta Kumar Das has been denied a ticket after the party decided to go for seniority with sitting MLA Atul Bora, in his mid-seventies now, as the contestant for Dispur legislative Assembly constituency.
Talking to the media on Tuesday, an aggrieved Das said, “I am hurt and pained by the decision of the party not to give me a ticket…I know I can serve the people of Dispur LAC like I have served the party for 30 long years.”
Hinting that he might consider being in the poll fray as an Independent candidate, Das however said that he respected the party and would wait for a reconsideration.
“It is a question of eligibility and not just seniority. Dispur LAC has not seen the kind of development it deserves…people still have to buy water every day, some hinge on streams to collect the same,” he said, obliquely slamming the sitting MLA for “not doing enough”.
Meanwhile, Assam BJP leader and minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday, while acknowledging Das’ contributions to the party as a karyakarta, stated that he (Das) was an eligible candidate for a ticket to contest Dispur LAC.
“However, the party has decided to nominate the senior politician (Atul Bora) and I believe that Jayanta Das would not contest as an Independent and instead be with the party,” Sarma said.