AGP's Tapan Das thanks party leaders, seeks "blessings of people" ahead of Assam polls

AGP candidate Tapan Das, speaking in Guwahati, said that his nomination comes after nearly three decades of dedicated service to the party.

"After 27 years of service to the Assam Gana Parishad, I was nominated and for this, I thank Atul Bora, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Dilip Saikia... I also seek the blessings of the people of Assam," he told ANI.

AGP released its list of 26 candidates for the upcoming polls. Party president and Cabinet Minister Atul Bora is set to contest from the Bokakhat constituency, while Executive President Keshab Mahanta has been fielded from the Kaliabor assembly seat.

AGP is a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner in the state. Currently having 9 seats in the assembly, the AGP is set to contest 26 seats, while its poll partners, the BJP will contest 89 seats, while the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) will contest 11 seats for the polls.

Meanwhile, BJP candidate from the Guwahati Assembly constituency, Vijay Gupta, also appealed to voters, stating that public support would be crucial in the upcoming electoral contest.

"We need the blessings of the people of Assam, Guwahati. I am grateful to our central leadership for this opportunity," he said. Assam will witness a fight between the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and Congress for the 126-seat assembly.

The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will look to secure a third consecutive term, while the Congress aims to defeat the ruling party to return to power.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the NDA, comprising the BJP, AGP and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), 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)