Guwahati, February 26 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday set March 10 as the new deadline for finalizing the seat-sharing agreement within the ruling NDA for the assembly elections, four days after declaring that it was a "done deal".
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said discussions with two allies are still ongoing.
"Our talks with the BPF will be completed within a day or two. It will be finalized with the AGP by March 9-10. We hope everything will be finalized by then, and we will be able to announce the alliance by March 10," he said.
The CM said the seat-sharing arrangement with the Rabha Hasong Joutha Sangram Samiti (RHJSS) is complete.
He attributed the delay partly to the ongoing Rajya Sabha elections, saying that NDA partners are proceeding cautiously during this period.
Among the NDA constituents in the state, the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), and Bodoland People's Front (BPF) have representation in the assembly.
The RHJSS and Janashakti Party are also part of the coalition, but do not have any MLAs.
On February 22, Sarma had said the seat-sharing arrangement was complete.
Earlier, on January 7, he had said that the agreement with AGP and smaller regional parties would be formalized by February 15. In December last year, he had set January 15 as the target to conclude the discussions.
Following the 2023 delimitation exercise, several constituencies have seen boundary changes, while some seats have been converted from general to reserved categories and vice versa.
In the 126-member assembly, the BJP has 64 MLAs, while its allies AGP, UPPL and BPF have nine, seven and three members, respectively.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF 15, CPI(M) one, and there is one Independent legislator.
The elections are expected to be held in March-April.