Congress Names 42 Candidates For Assam Assembly Elections; Gaurav Gogoi, Debabrata Saikia Among key Faces

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday released its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections. Significantly, the party has fielded state party chief and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi from the prestigious Jorhat Assembly seat.

The opposition party, which is taking on the Himanta Biswa Sharma-led BJP, announced its candidates before the formal declaration of election dates by the Election Commission.

The party said Congress Legislature Party leader in Assam Debabrata Saikia will contest the election from the Nazira constituency. Other prominent names include former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ripun Bora. He has been fielded from the Barchalla constituency.

According to an official release, the list includes Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi (Jorhat), Bitupan Saikia (Golaghat), Abdus Sobahan Ali Sarkar from Gauripur, Markline Marak from Goalpara West (ST), Girish Baruah from Bongaigaon, Mahananda Sarkar from Barpeta (SC), and Ramen Singh Rabha from Boko-Chaygaon (ST).

Other prominent names are Satyabrat Kalita (Kamalpur), Ripun Bora (Barchalla), Mira Borthakur Goswami (Dispur), Diganta Barman (Barkhetri), Uptal Gogoi (Sonari), Ajoy Kumar Gogoi (Demow), Debabrata Saikia (Nazira), and Ashok Kumar Sarma (Nalbari).

Several female leaders have also been fielded, including Nandita Das (Hajo-Sualkuchi SC), Pallabi Saikia Gogoi (Teok), and Suruchi Roy (Ram Krishana Nagar SC). The list features several candidates representing Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes constituencies.

The announcement was signed by KC Venugopal, General Secretary of AICC, and officially released for publication, confirming the candidates' nomination ahead of the crucial state polls. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Kokrajhar in Assam on March 13, Assam Minister Urkhao Gwra Brahma said.
Speaking to ANI, the Assam Minister said that PM Modi will lay foundation stones of development projects in the state.

"On the upcoming 13th, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the market to lay the foundation stone for a project. According to an agreement, another project's foundation stone also needs to be laid. The government list has not been released yet," Urkhao Gwra Brahma said. PM Modi's Assam visit comes ahead of the State Legislative Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year. (With agency inputs)