Intense Political Activity Marks Final Nomination Day in Assam
Final Nomination Day in Assam
Chirang, March 23: The last day for filing nominations saw significant political movements across various constituencies in Assam, particularly in the Sidli-Chirang and Bijni Assembly segments within the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
In the Sidli-Chirang constituency, Congress candidate Motilal Narzary and Monima Brahma from the Voters Party International (VPI) submitted their nomination papers on the final day.
Following his nomination, Narzary criticized both the BPF and UPPL parties. He claimed that voters have become “disillusioned” with the BPF due to unfulfilled promises from previous council elections, suggesting they would not support the party this time around.
Narzary also directed his criticism at the UPPL, asserting that the party failed to deliver during its five-year term in the BTC, and noted that their candidate, Ranjit Kumar Basumatary, had lost in two previous council elections.
“Despite these setbacks, the party has nominated him again, but the public will not accept this,” Narzary stated, emphasizing that voters are now looking towards Congress as a viable alternative to the BJP.
He further mentioned that if elected, his focus would be on enhancing education and healthcare in the Sidli constituency.
Earlier, on March 20, candidates Paniram Brahma from BPF and Ranjit Kumar Basumatary from UPPL had already filed their nominations, bringing the total number of candidates in this constituency to four.
In the Bijni Assembly constituency, the competition intensified with 15 candidates submitting their nominations on the final day. Earlier, on March 20, two candidates, Kamal Singh Narzary from UPPL and Mushukha Basumatary from AIUDF, had already filed their papers, raising the total to 17.
Among the new nominations on Monday were BJP's Arup Kumar Dey, Congress's Rajat Kanti Saha, AGP's Nilanjana Chakraborty, and former Kokrajhar MP Naba Kumar Sarania from the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP). Sarania expressed optimism about gaining voter support this time and mentioned his intention to contest in both Bijni and Manas constituencies, with plans to field candidates in ten Assembly constituencies.
Several Independent candidates are former members of political parties, including Khalilur Rahman, Dimbeswar Bodo, and Abdul Hai Nagori, who recently departed from the BPF. Other Independents include Abdul Amin Sheikh, Manoranjan Barman from Oboro Suraksha Samiti, former Congress member Abutaleb Sikdar, and Nasiruddin Khan (Jeet Khan). Prabhat Basumatary, who left the BJP, has also filed as an Independent, alongside other candidates like Kandarp Roy and Binimoy Basumatary.
In a last-minute effort, two Independent candidates rushed to submit their nomination papers just before the deadline on Monday.
On the other hand, BJP candidate Arup Kumar Dey stated he is contesting as the NDA nominee, backed by BJP, BPF, and AGP. He highlighted the turnout of supporters during his nomination as evidence of strong public backing.
“While many may have opinions, what truly matters is the support from the people,” Dey remarked, asserting that unlike Congress, the BJP does not make “false promises” and is confident of securing victory.