BJP-led alliance will field candidates for all three Assam Rajya Sabha seats: Himanta

The BJP and its allies will contest all three Rajya Sabha seats from Assam that are due to fall vacant in April, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on January 9, signalling an aggressive push by the ruling coalition in the upcoming Upper House elections.

Addressing a press conference, Sarma said the ruling front was certain of winning two seats, while the third could also tilt in its favour. “The BJP, AGP and our united front will put candidates in all three seats,” he said. “We will win in two for sure. The third one, we may win or lose.”

The seats are currently held by two Bharatiya Janata Party MPs — Bhubaneswar Kalita and Rameswar Teli — and Independent MP Ajit Bhuyan. All three terms end in April.

Sarma said the ruling alliance had earlier chosen not to field a candidate against Bhuyan, believing he would remain “neutral and will work for good”. He added, however, that this assessment had changed. “But what he did with his Rajya Sabha MP funds we all know,” the chief minister said, referring to allegations of irregularities in the use of MP development funds.

The numbers in the Assam Assembly currently favour the ruling coalition. The BJP has 64 MLAs, while its allies — the Asom Gana Parishad, United People’s Party Liberal and Bodoland People’s Front — together account for 19 more members.

On the opposition benches, the Congress has 26 MLAs, the All India United Democratic Front 15, and the CPI(M) one. There is also one Independent legislator in the House.

With the arithmetic firmly on its side, the BJP-led alliance appears confident of consolidating its presence in the Rajya Sabha from Assam, even as it prepares for a contest over the third seat.