Final day nomination filings pack Bijni with 17 candidates, 4 in Sidli-Chirang

Chirang, March 23: The final day of nomination filing witnessed key political activity across constituencies in Assam, with multiple candidates entering the fray in Sidli-Chirang and Bijni Assembly segments in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

In the 19 Sidli-Chirang constituency, Congress candidate Motilal Narzary and Voters Party International (VPI)’s Monima Brahma filed their nomination papers on the last day.

After filing his nomination, Congress nominee Narzary criticised both the BPF and the UPPL.

He said voters are “disillusioned” with the BPF for failing to fulfil promises made during the previous council elections and would not support the party this time.

He also targeted the UPPL, stating that the party failed to deliver during its five-year tenure in the BTC, adding that its candidate Ranjit Kumar Basumatary had faced defeats in two council elections.

“Despite that, the party has fielded him again, but people will not accept it,” Narzary said, asserting that voters were now rallying behind the Congress as an alternative to the BJP.

Narzary further said that if elected, he would prioritise the education and healthcare sectors in the Sidli constituency.

Earlier, on March 20, BPF’s Paniram Brahma and UPPL candidate Ranjit Kumar Basumatary had submitted their nominations, taking the total number of candidates in the constituency to four.

Meanwhile, the 20 Bijni Assembly constituency saw a crowded contest, with 15 candidates filing nominations on the final day.

Two candidates had filed their papers earlier on March 20, namely UPPL’s Kamal Singh Narzary and AIUDF’s Mushukha Basumatary, taking the total number of candidates to 17.

Among those who filed nominations on Monday were BJP candidate Arup Kumar Dey, Congress nominee Rajat Kanti Saha, AGP’s Nilanjana Chakraborty, and Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) candidate and former Kokrajhar MP Naba Kumar Sarania.

Sarania expressed confidence that voters would back the GSP this time and said he would contest from both Bijni and Manas constituencies. He also announced that the party would field candidates in 10 Assembly constituencies.

A number of Independent candidates are former members of political parties, including Khalilur Rahman, Dimbeswar Bodo and Abdul Hai Nagori, who recently left the BPF.

Others contesting as Independents include Abdul Amin Sheikh, Manoranjan Barman of Oboro Suraksha Samiti, former Congress member Abutaleb Sikdar, and Nasiruddin Khan (Jeet Khan).

Prabhat Basumatary, who quit the BJP, has also filed as an Independent. Kandarp Roy and Binimoy Basumatary are among the other Independent candidates.

In a last-minute rush, two Independent candidates were seen hurrying in to submit their nomination papers before the deadline, on Monday.

On the other hand, BJP candidate Arup Kumar Dey said he was contesting as the NDA nominee with the support of BJP, BPF and AGP.

He pointed to the turnout of supporters during his nomination filing as proof of strong public backing.

“Many will say many things, but what matters is who the people support,” Dey said, adding that unlike the Congress, the BJP does not make “false promises” and remains confident of victory.