Guwahati: Senior BJP leader Jayanta Kumar Das on Thursday announced that he will contest the upcoming Assam Assembly elections as an Independent candidate from the Dispur constituency, days after being denied a party ticket.
Das said he will file his nomination on March 23, signalling an open rebellion within the party ranks in Guwahati.
A long-time party worker, Das expressed strong dissatisfaction with the BJP’s candidate selection process, alleging that loyal members were being sidelined in favour of recent entrants.
“BJP is a party shaped by us, not Himanta Biswa Sarma,” Das said on Thursday, taking direct aim at the Chief Minister and questioning the leadership’s decisions.
He also criticised the party’s growing reliance on leaders who have switched from rival parties, challenging the Chief Minister to demonstrate political strength. “If there is so much confidence in them, why not field them from your own constituency?” he lashed out at Himanta Biswa Sarma.
In a pointed remark, Das further challenged Sarma to ensure the victory of Pradyut Bordoloi in the upcoming elections.
Das alleged that the party’s internal processes had been compromised, pointing to what he described as the emergence of a “ticket syndicate”. He claimed that, alongside existing mining and trade syndicates, the distribution of party tickets is now being influenced by a closed network aligned with the Chief Minister.
According to Das, this trend has resulted in the marginalisation of long-serving party workers while favouring defectors, particularly those from the Congress.
The BJP recently announced candidates for a majority of constituencies ahead of the Assembly elections, a move that has triggered discontent among sections of its cadre over the exclusion of several senior leaders.
Das’s decision to enter the fray as an Independent is expected to add a new dimension to the contest in Dispur, a key constituency in the state capital.