Guwahati, Feb 15: A day after the BJP announced its candidate for next month’s bypoll to Majuli Assembly constituency, regional party, Assam Jatiya Parishad on Tuesday named Chittaranjan Basumatary as the Opposition’s ‘common’ candidate for the Upper Assam seat vacated last year by former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Announcing the party candidate for Majuli, AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi said that the objective of fielding a “common Opposition candidate” was to defeat the ruling BJP in the seat.
Basumatary, it may be noted, had contested unsuccessfully for the Dhemaji seat on an AJP ticket last year, where he lost to Ranoj Pegu, who is currently a Cabinet minister in the BJP-led state government.
The central election committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced Bhuban Gam as the party’s candidate for next month’s by-election in Majuli legislative Assembly constituency.
Gam, who belongs to the Mising community, had earlier sought a BJP ticket in the 2016 and 2021 state elections, but was denied.
Meanwhile, a war of words began soon after Basumatary’s name was announced by AJP on Tuesday, with Gam terming Basumatary “a sacrificial lamb” while claiming that neither AJP nor Congress can win Majuli.
On the other hand, Basumatary hit back at the BJP candidate, saying that “Gam is Guwahati based and will therefore not be able to connect with the voters of Majuli”.
The Election Commission of India had recently issued the formal notification for the by-election to the seat, scheduling the poll on March 7, 2022. The result will be declared on March 10, 2022.