Pradip Baruah leads the opposition push in Kaliabor, while Basanta Das and Sherman Ali Ahmed miss out on tuckets despite their recent switches. Suchi Roy has filed her nomination, making strong claims in the Ramkrishnagar contest
Guwahati: In a significant move ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, the opposition alliance has announced Pradip Baruah as its joint candidate for the 57-Kaliabor constituency.
Baruah is set to contest on a Raijor Dal ticket, backed by major opposition parties including the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Ason Jatiya Parishad (AJP), reflecting a broader strategy of unity to challenge the ruling alliance.
The development comes at a time when a noticeable trend is emerging in the state’s political landscape, with several leaders who recently switched parties failing to secure election tickets. These cases highlight the risk associated with last-minute political realignments.
One prominent example is of Basanta Das. The sitting MLA from Mangaldai, Das, took a political gamble by leaving the Congress and joining the BJP. He even went on to praise the Chief Minister Hinmanta Biswa Sarma. However, the move did not yield the expected reward as the BJP denied him a ticket and instead backed Nilima Devi for the seat.
In Mandia, Sherman Ali Ahmed’s switch from Congress to Raijor Dal also failed to translate into an electoral opportunity. Despite joining a party now aligned with the Congress, He was overlooked with Abdul Khaleque emerging as the preferred candidate.
These development spoi t to internal party calculations and an effort to manage dissent, as long-time workers often resist candidates who switch allegiances shortly before elections.
Meanwhile, the Gana Suraksha Party (GPS), led by Naba Kumar Sarania, has stepped up its electoral preparations by releasing multiple candidate lists. In its latest announcement, the party fielded candidates including Nagen Deka from Tongla, Deepak Rajbongshi from Bhergaon, and Nabajit Sarania from Tamulpur. Sarania himself will contest from both Manas and Bijni constituencies, underlining the party’s focus on expanding its footprint in the Bodoland Territorial Region.
In another development, Congress candidate Suruchi Roy filed her nomination from the Ramkrishnanagar constituency on March 20 in the presence of party leaders. Framing her campaign around a “local versus Bangladeshi” narrative, Roy also targeted her BJP rival over a pending citizenship case in the High Court, expressing confidence in her electoral victory.
With nominations underway and alliances taking clearer shape, Assam’s electoral contest is witnessing both strategic coordination and internal churn, setting the stage for a closely watched battle.
Also Read: Assam Polls Gain Pace: 109 Candidates Submit 209 Nominations
