Ajit Bhuyan, Biswajit Daimary & Bhubaneshwar Kalita Sure Shot for Rajya Sabha, to Win Uncontested

Guwahati, March 13, 2020:

The chain of events that led to the nomination of Ajit Bhuyan, a prominent journalist from Assam, to the Rajya Sabha, will down in Assamese history as one of the most intriguing political developments in recent memory.

Bhuyan's nomination brought two political rivals -- the Congress and the AIUDF -- on the same platform. At the same time, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led from the forefront by the pro-CAA leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, succumbed to the . The Congress and its allies, severely dent after the defection of the Madhya Pradesh leader Jyotiradutya Scindia, sees this as a moral victory, and 3-time Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has opined that the BJP ship capitulated in "fear".

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However, Bhuyan was only nominated after several names were being floated by the Congress and AIUDF parties, brought together by necessity, ahead of the polls. One of the names that was being floated was that of noted filmmaker, Jahnu Barua. However, Barua, not ready to take a forever plunge into the political mire, posted a video on social media, where he clarified, "I have heard that opposition parties have discussed presenting my name for nomination, and I have heard murmurs that I have expressed desire of being a Rajya Sabha MP. It is completely untrue, and I am saddened that my name is being brought up like this. I have said in the past that I am not a political man and have never expressed will to be involved in politics..."

After Barua's clarification, the name of Bhuyan as a potential candidate started doing the rounds, with Inside Northeast sources finally confirming that he was ultimately chosen as the candidate of the alliance.

Bhuyan had reportedly caught the eye of the political supremos in the opposition due to his unflinching opposition to the BJP Government's most controversial move yet: the amendment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that fasttracks citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Opposition to the CAA is something that was given paramount importance by the Opposition, as it is the pressing issue of the day, especially in the aftermath of violent riots in Delhi (termed as 'pogroms' by the opposition)

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Gogoi, speaking to the media in Guwahati during the filing of nomination of the AIUDF MLA, has claimed that the BJP is afraid. Taking the opportunity to take further potshots at the rival camp, Gogoi further said, “They are the coronavirus of communalism. They are trying to divide the nation into several parts. When they go to Barpeta, Dhubri, they claim it to be Bangladesh.”

Meanwhile, the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) leader Biswajit Daimary, and Bhubaneshwar Kalita have both been forwarded by the BJP, and will win uncontested, as no other candidate filed nomination papers today, which was the last date.

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