Assam Congress drafts tentative constituency-wise candidate list ahead of LS polls: Sources

As the political climate in Assam heats up in anticipation of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Assam Congress has taken a strategic step by suggesting a tentative list of candidates for all 14 parliamentary constituencies. 

According to sources, a screening committee meeting was held at a party office in Delhi which will decide the fate of the current Congress MPs as well as the aspirants.

Sources claim that this internal meeting was nothing but a sort of bargaining for seats as in who is in and who is out.

A highly placed source in the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee has confirmed that the consent of the working presidents- Rana Goswami, Jakir Hussain Sikdar and Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha have been taken into consideration before the announcement of the tickets although they are not part of the screening team.

It is to be mentioned here that the screening committee consists of four components- APCC president Bhupen Borah, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Debabrata Saikia, AICC In-Charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh and the chairman of the screening committee along with two AICC secretary.

Meanwhile following this in-depth discussion only two constituencies have been confirmed so far- for the Tezpur constituency, the Congress is likely to field Abhijit Hazarika who is a former legislator, whereas Bornali Phukon's name has also been suggested. 

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For the Guwahati constituency, the Congress is still in dilemma, if Congress goes for the alliance with AAP then it will have to give away its seat to Kejriwal's party and if not veteran Congress leader Mira Borthakur Goswami is likely to bag the ticket.

However, on February 8, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has already announced its candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha Elections from three seats of Assam including Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Tezpur. 

On the otherhand, if Congress goes as per the INDI bloc agreement, then the Guwahati seat will go to AAP, and for Dibrugarh, it will be a sure breath for Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi.

The Congress party is also asking Rakibul Hussain to fight from the Dhubri constituency while Abdul Khaleque is also eyeing the same seat. Sources, also claim that the state Congress is trying to sideline Abdul Khaleque.

The Congress is now likely to place a female candidate, Naiwritaa Joy Shukla, from Silchar Constituency, for the Jorhat constituency so far Gaurav Gogoi is the contender however, for the Nagaon constituency, the Congress party is yet to decide on the fate of seating Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi and Gaurav Gogoi.

For the Kariranga constituency, the Congress is likely to place Roselina Tirkey, however, for the North Lakhimpur constituency the party is yet to decide.

Meanwhile, for the Karminganj constituency, the party has suggested four names- Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, Ahad Talukdar, Zubair Anam and Aminur Rashid Choudhury.

This comprehensive list reflects the party's efforts to field a strong team of candidates across the state, aiming to consolidate votes and prevent any division that could benefit the opposition. 

The Assam Congress's proactive approach in suggesting this list indicates their readiness to face the electoral challenge, however, a survey will be carried out by the screening committee following which Congress will declare the final list after 15 days.