Former BJP Leader Jayanta Das files nomination as Independent from Dispur

Former BJP leader Jayanta Das on March 23 filed his nomination as an Independent candidate from the Dispur Assembly constituency, arriving at the Kamrup (Metro) District Commissioner’s office after what he described as taking “extreme caution.”
Das told reporters that he maintained a low profile as he feared possible obstacles in filing his nomination papers. “I was worried I might be stopped, slapped with some police case and released much after the time for filing the nomination expired,” he said.
He also said he has tentatively decided on a name for the political party he plans to form. “It’s Trinamool Congress,” he said, adding in a lighter vein that he “could not get rid of the BJP from his DNA.”
Taking a swipe at the BJP’s Dispur candidate Pradyut Bordoloi, Das remarked that the constituency would, for the first time, have “two Congress candidates,” referring to Bordoloi’s switch from the Congress to the BJP and the official Congress nominee, Mira Borthakur.
The BJP’s decision to nominate Bordoloi for the Dispur seat led to Das quitting the party after nearly 35 years of association. Party leaders, including central representatives, had reportedly attempted to persuade him to reconsider, but he remained firm in his decision.
The contest in Dispur is being closely watched, with Das’s entry as an Independent likely to influence the electoral dynamics.