Guwahati, March 26 A total of 722 candidates remain in the running for the Assam assembly elections after 67 candidates withdrew their nominations on the last day of withdrawal on Thursday, officials said.
Among the candidates who withdrew their nominations are Md Aminul Islam (representing the Mankachar seat for the National Peoples' Party (NPP), who recently resigned from the AIUDF), four members of the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC), and one leader of the Gondwana Ganatantra Party. The remaining candidates are all independent.
The four members of the ASDC are Kamal Singh Bey (Bokajan), Mandal Enghi (Howraghat), Gulson Bey (Diphu), and Anjoshi Terang (Haflong), officials said.
A total of 815 candidates had filed 1,389 nomination papers across 126 constituencies. Following scrutiny, 789 candidates were found eligible.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray are Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia of the Congress, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, and several cabinet ministers.
The elections will be held on April 9, and the counting will take place on May 4.
