Assam Polls: BJP To Announce Candidates On March 18; AGP Gets 3 Seats In Barak Valley

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday (March 14) said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will announce its list of candidates for the upcoming elections on March 18, adding that the party is preparing with several new faces.

Speaking in Silchar outside the Assam Secretariat for Barak Valley, the Chief Minister said seat-sharing with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has already been finalised, and the official announcement of the seat sharing will be made tomorrow.

“There will be new faces everywhere as we have more seats now. We are gearing up for the elections,” Sarma said.

As per the understanding between the allies, AGP will contest three of the 13 seats in Barak Valley — South Karimganj, Sonai, and Algapur — while the remaining 10 seats will be contested by the BJP.

Sarma also informed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to arrive today in Guwahati, and the detailed list of seats will be made public on March 15 after talks with Shah and AGP.

It may be mentioned that the BJP currently runs the Assam government in alliance with AGP, and they have 8 MLAs. The development also comes days after AIUDF MLA Karim Uddin Barbhuiya from Sonai formally joined AGP on March 9, a move seen as significant ahead of the elections.

Meanwhile, the Congress has already declared its list of candidates for the upcoming polls.