Reported by Tejesh Tripathy
Bongaigaon: Chakradhar Das, an executive member of the BJP’s Bongaigaon district unit and a ticket aspirant, has announced that he will contest the upcoming Assam Assembly elections as an Independent candidate from the Bongaigaon constituency.
Das said he resigned from the BJP a day earlier after the party decided to leave the seat to its ally, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). He is set to file his nomination on March 23.
Speaking to media, Das claimed that he had been among the frontrunners for the ticket based on internal assessments but the constituency was eventually allotted to the AGP. He alleged that the decision followed pressure from Barpeta MP Phani Bhushan Choudhury, who, according to him, had pushed for his wife Diptimoyee Choudhury to be fielded from the seat.
Das also said there had been indications that sections of the BJP leadership favoured fielding a party candidate from Bongaigaon, but the seat-sharing arrangement with the AGP prevailed.
Positioning himself as an alternative to the AGP nominee, Das said he decided to enter the fray as an Independent, citing what he described as public discontent with long-standing representation by the AGP in the constituency. He identified “development” as his primary campaign issue.
The Bongaigaon Assembly seat has a total electorate of 1,71,289 voters.
Meanwhile, Birkumar Adhikary, who recently stepped down as general secretary of the BJP’s district Kisan Morcha, also criticised the AGP’s candidate. He claimed that voters had previously rejected the use of money power in elections and expressed confidence that the trend would continue in the Assembly polls.
The contest in Bongaigaon is expected to draw attention as local dissatisfaction within party ranks adds a new dimension to the electoral battle.