Himanta Biswa Sarma holds large rally as he sets out to file nomination from Jalukbari

BJP supporters gathered in large numbers as the CM's caravan progressed to file the nomination for the Assam Assembly elections.

Himanta Biswa Sarma is a five-time MLA from Jalukbari. First elected in 2001, he served three terms in Congress before his famous switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2016.

Sarma is looking to retain his seat as he eyes a second term as Assam Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, Congress have expanded its alliance, coming together with Raijor Dal to face Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA alliance in the Assam Assembly elections. Both parties reached an agreement on Thursday after weeks of deadlock.

Assam Congress President Gaurav Gogoi and Raijor Dal Akhil Gogoi made the announcement in a joint press conference.

Gaurav Gogoi said that everyone has made sacrifices to form this alliance with a goal to build a new Assam. He then appealed to the other party to fight together with Congress to bid farewell to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

"This time, everyone wants to see us together, and that is why we have made many sacrifices. There were a lot of candidates but we all made sacrifices. This time, Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI-M and CPI-ML have come together," he said.

Assam will witness a fight between the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and Congress for the 126-seat assembly on April 9. The counting of votes will be done on May 4.

In 2021, the NDA, comprising the BJP, AGP and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), had won 75 seats, with the BJP alone winning 60 seats. The Congress and AIUDF had formed a grand alliance along with the BPF and the communist parties, but the alliance performed poorly with just 16 seats out of 126.

Voter turnout was as high as 86.2 per cent with over 2. 2 crore registered voters in 2021. (ANI)