GUWAHATI, March 4 - The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is getting ready to contest from 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam during the forthcoming General Elections, while its alliance partner Bodoland People�s Front (BPF) will contest from the Kokrajhar seat.
�BPF will be contesting the Kokrajhar seat. That is final. We are undertaking preparations of our own as far as the remaining 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of the State are concerned,� Dilip Saikia, State BJP general secretary, told The Assam Tribune.
Asked if the BJP expects Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) to return to the NDA fold, he said, �As of now, we do not foresee such a possibility. However, one must remember that the word �impossible' does not exist in politics.�
Saikia said the party�s central leadership has conducted a survey through an independent agency to shortlist prospective candidates.
�The survey was carried out in all the Lok Sabha constituencies. Besides, preliminary discussions are also going on among our senior leaders at the State level for shortlisting candidates as per the guidelines issued by our national executive. Various factors will be taken into consideration during selection of our probable nominees for the coming Parliamentary elections,� said the BJP leader.
The party has not sought applications from interested candidates. Rather, it is relying on the survey report carried out by an independent agency, besides considering aspects like winnability and feedback from the district and local committees.
To a query regarding the possibility of sitting MLAs being selected as Lok Sabha candidates, Saikia said, �that issue has not yet come up for discussion. Anyway, there are not many such probable cases. That factor may come into consideration only in one or two seats.�
Asked if all the sitting MPs are likely to be re-nominated, he said that winnability and the results of the survey report will be a major criterion.
Meanwhile, the State BJP has concluded its three-month-long exercise to prepare the party for the Lok Sabha elections.
�We have completed all the activities that our central leadership had directed us to conduct. The organisational activities got over on March 2 with the �Vijay Sankalp� bike rally where over two lakh youths participated in 126 Assembly constituencies of Assam. Now we will start purely election-oriented programmes,� said Saikia.
BJP had contested the previous 2014 Lok Sabha polls on its own and had emerged victorious from seven out of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in the State. The party is targeting to touch double digit figures in the coming elections.
