K D Singh, North-East Observer of Trinamool Congress releasing the 1st list of 55 members during a Press Conference at a city hotel in Guwahati on March 16. (Ujjal Deb Photo)
GUWAHATI | March 17 : The Trinamool Congress has given AICC president Sonia Gandhi’s no-contest plea the thumbs down to field candidates in 98 out of 126 assembly seats in Assam.
The Assam Pradesh Trinamool Congress on Thursday released the names of 43 candidates for the second phase of polling on April 11. The party’s list of 55 candidates for the first phase (April 4) was out on Wednesday.
“Our supremo Mamata Banerjee and all Trinamool Union ministers will be campaigning toward consolidating our presence in the Northeast,” said the party’s Assam unit vice-president J.K. Saikia. “We have thrown the gauntlet at the others to emerge as a major political alternative in
the region.”
The AICC had earlier this month urged Banerjee to keep off Assam besides seeking more seats in West Bengal under a pre-poll alliance. But Banerjee agreed to neither, particularly after her party’s unexpected show in a Manipur by-poll last month. Backed by the BJP, Trinamool candidate K. Sarat won the Konthoujam by-election in Manipur defeating the Congress’ S. Ranjan by 651 votes. Trinamool also has four MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh, and it had won one out of seven seats it had contested for the first time in Assam
(2001).
Dissension within the Congress and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the resultant crossover of former ministers and legislators also seem to have boosted Trinamool’s confidence. Among those who joined the party during the past fortnight are Israel Nanda of AGP, Bizit Saikia and
Debeswar Bora of Congress.
“We have a realistic chance of winning at least 25 seats,” said Trinamool general secretary Alok Ghosh. “We have been careful in selecting our candidates, and we filtered even those who came over from other parties.”
Ghosh added that his party wasn’t mulling a Manipur-like electoral tie-up with BJP, but was open to post-poll alliances. He claimed the AGP and the minority-specific All India United Democratic Party led by perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal were keen on allying with Trinamool.
The party has targeted Bengali Hindus and Bengali Muslims, who together comprise 45% of Assam’s population, even though they have been traditional vote-banks of BJP and Congress-AIUDF respectively.
The Assam Pradesh Trinamool Congress on Thursday released the names of 43 candidates for the second phase of polling on April 11. The party’s list of 55 candidates for the first phase (April 4) was out on Wednesday.
“Our supremo Mamata Banerjee and all Trinamool Union ministers will be campaigning toward consolidating our presence in the Northeast,” said the party’s Assam unit vice-president J.K. Saikia. “We have thrown the gauntlet at the others to emerge as a major political alternative in
the region.”
The AICC had earlier this month urged Banerjee to keep off Assam besides seeking more seats in West Bengal under a pre-poll alliance. But Banerjee agreed to neither, particularly after her party’s unexpected show in a Manipur by-poll last month. Backed by the BJP, Trinamool candidate K. Sarat won the Konthoujam by-election in Manipur defeating the Congress’ S. Ranjan by 651 votes. Trinamool also has four MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh, and it had won one out of seven seats it had contested for the first time in Assam
(2001).
Dissension within the Congress and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the resultant crossover of former ministers and legislators also seem to have boosted Trinamool’s confidence. Among those who joined the party during the past fortnight are Israel Nanda of AGP, Bizit Saikia and
Debeswar Bora of Congress.
“We have a realistic chance of winning at least 25 seats,” said Trinamool general secretary Alok Ghosh. “We have been careful in selecting our candidates, and we filtered even those who came over from other parties.”
Ghosh added that his party wasn’t mulling a Manipur-like electoral tie-up with BJP, but was open to post-poll alliances. He claimed the AGP and the minority-specific All India United Democratic Party led by perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal were keen on allying with Trinamool.
The party has targeted Bengali Hindus and Bengali Muslims, who together comprise 45% of Assam’s population, even though they have been traditional vote-banks of BJP and Congress-AIUDF respectively.
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