Guwahati, March 19 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday that national BJP leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and party president Nitin Nabin will lead the assembly election campaign, which will begin on March 24, a day after the nomination filing process is completed.
Union ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Pabitra Margherita, BJP state president Dilip Saikia, and party management committee convenor Pradan Baruah will also participate in the campaign in Assam, Sarma told reporters at the party headquarters here.
The campaign will continue until 5 pm on April 7.
The elections to the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on April 9, and votes will be counted on May 4.
The BJP released its first list of 88 candidates for the Assam assembly polls on Thursday.
Sarma said that several state party functionaries will also participate in the canvassing.
"I am sure the people of the state will give us overwhelming support and blessings so that we can take the state to a new horizon of development," he said.
Sarma thanked Saikia for handing over a BJP ticket to him to contest the polls from the Jalukbari constituency.
The chief minister said that the party has prioritized youth in the coming polls and has given tickets to several first-timers who have worked to strengthen the party's organization at the grassroots level.
"It is good to see that several young people have got tickets.... This is good for the party as we are keen to promote young blood,'' he said.
He said that this time six women have been given tickets, compared to two in the previous polls but in the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, "women will get statutory representation of 33 per cent."
''The most significant part of the candidates getting tickets this time is that they have all worked at the grassroots levels to strengthen the party's organizational base," he said.
The tickets have been given to those candidates who form the ''rank and file'' of the party, he said.
Asked about many sitting MLAs being denied tickets, Sarma said this has happened mainly due to the delimitation exercise of 2023, which led to the realignment of many constituencies, Sarma said.
''We have not dropped our MLAs, but due to constitutional requirements, we have not been able to give them tickets this time, while some had to shift to other constituencies,” he added.
Sarma further asserted that the list of 88 candidates announced on Thursday does not include a single family member of a party leader.
''In the BJP, even if there are members of the leaders in the party, they will have to work at the grassroots level and only then are they eligible for tickets," he said.
Sarma said that the BJP will contest in 89 seats and will announce the candidate for the Sissiborgaon constituency in Dhemaji district by tomorrow.
He said that though many senior members left the opposition Congress to join the BJP, he wished the grand old party well for the forthcoming polls.
''We want an effective opposition in the House, but as of today, there is hardly anybody willing to vote for them,'' Sarma added.