Guwahati, March 19 An "exchange" of candidates for the Assam Assembly elections took place between NDA constituents, the BJP and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), with leaders switching parties to join the other in order to contest as nominees of the ruling coalition.
Two leaders from the BJP and one from the AGP, who joined the other party in the run-up to the April 9 Assembly election, secured tickets from their new party on Thursday.
Former AGP MLA Bhupen Roy, who had joined the BJP earlier this week, was named as the candidate for the Abhayapuri constituency.
While the BJP will field candidates in 89 seats, the AGP in 26, and the third partner of the coalition, the Bodoland People's Front, will nominate in 11.
With the allies contesting the polls under a seat-sharing arrangement, it became known that the BJP would contest in Abhayapuri after the AGP refused to leave the bordering Bongaigaon seat.
Bongaigaon is currently represented by AGP's Diptimayee Choudhury, who has once again been re-nominated by the party from the same seat.
She was elected in the 2024 bye-election after the incumbent MLA and her husband Phani Bhusan Choudhury won the Lok Sabha polls from Barpeta constituency as an NDA candidate.
Phani Bhusan had been undefeated from Bongaigaon since 1983, making him the longest-serving MLA in the state so far.
Roy decided to switch sides to the other NDA ally in order to ensure that he became the ruling alliance's candidate in the constituency.
Two BJP leaders, who had joined the AGP after learning that their constituencies would be in the share of the regional party, secured the tickets from their new outfit on Thursday.
Basanta Das joined the regional outfit on Thursday morning and was named the party candidate from Naoboicha in the evening.
Another BJP leader Prakash Das, who was inducted into the AGP earlier this week, has been nominated from the Hajo-Sualkuchi seat.
The chief executive councillor of Kamatapur Autonomous Council, Jibesh Roy, who also joined the AGP on Thursday, has been announced as the party candidate from the Bilasipara constituency.
A former Congress leader from Binnakandi, Sahabuddin Majumdar, has also secured the ticket from the constituency in the AGP candidates’ list published on Thursday evening.
The BJP has named its candidates for 88 seats in the first list, while the BPF is yet to declare its candidates.
Elections for the 126-member Assembly will be held on April 9, with counting of votes on May 4.
In the outgoing Assembly, the ruling BJP's strength in the 126-member House is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven and BPF has three members.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 members, AIUDF 15, and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is one Independent legislator also.