GUWAHATI: Jailed anti-CAA activist and Raijor Dal president, Akhil Gogoi filed his nominations for two Legislative Assembly constituencies – Sibsagar and Mariani – from the premises of Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), where he is currently undergoing treatment.
Gogoi submitted his nomination papers to the returning officer for the ensuing Assembly elections in Assam via video conferencing. A team of election officials collected the nomination papers of Akhil Gogoi
According to party sources, Gogoi also addressed a six-page letter to the people of Assam where he claimed that he has been “held captive by the BJP” since the past 15 months.
In the hand-written letter, the Raijor Dal president urged the people “to be prepared and drive out the saffron party from the state in the upcoming elections.”
Gogoi also urged everyone to remember the five martyrs of the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act 2019) movement while voting on election day.
Raijor Dal, which has already forged a pre-poll alliance with another regional party, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), has announced a list of 18 seats for the first two phases of Assembly election on March 27 and April 1.
Earlier, as Gogoi came out to file his nomination papers, a chaotic situation prevailed on the premises of GMCH, with the anti-CAA activist shouting slogans, urging people of the state “to oust the incumbent party from power”, while many of his supporters joined in, demanding his release from jail.
Security personnel thereafter had to disperse the activist’s supporters and tighten security arrangements on the premises of the hospital.
Earlier on March 3, Gogoi had proposed all the Opposition parties to field one common candidate against every BJP nominee, “to defeat the saffron party” in the ensuing polls.
Meanwhile, AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi also filed his nominations on Monday from Naharkatia and Duliajan legislative Assembly constituencies in Upper Assam.
Expressing confidence that the people of Assam will render immense support to jatiyotabad (Assamese nationalism) and regionalism, Lurinjyoti said that the regional alliance would form the government by defeating the national parties in the ensuing polls.
“We have seen what the national parties have done in the past and how they are only interested in Assam’s rich resources,” he added.