Assam Finance Minister and convener of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the BJP and its partner Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) will field one candidate each for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Assam which will fall vacant on June 14.
Speculation was rife over the elections for two Rajya Sabha seats which are falling vacant on June 14.
While some BJP leaders had stated that the ruling party will put up candidates for both the Rajya Sabha seats, the AGP top brass had recently reminded the BJP national leadership about their promise of giving one seat to the AGP.
“While BJP will field a candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat, we may leave the second seat for AGP,” Sarma told reporters in New Delhi on Sunday.
Sarma’s statement to the media came after AGP President Atul Bora met the BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday.
Sarma also hinted that a person who is strongly connected to Assam will be fielded for the Rajya Sabha polls.
The AGP president, on the other hand, said that the regional party will field sitting Rajya Sabha MP Birendra Prasad Baishya in one of the seats falling vacant.
BJP’s ally AGP had contested the recent Lok Sabha polls in three constituencies. While the BJP won nine out of 14 seats, the AGP failed to win a single seat.
Sources in Guwahati said that the Rajya Sabha seat was part of the agreement arrived at between the AGP and BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Two Rajya Sabha seats currently held by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress legislator Santius Kujur, will fall vacant on June 14.
The Election Commission has announced elections on June 7 to fill the impending vacancies to two seats from Assam in the upper house of Parliament.
