Guwahati, 05 March (HS): Candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance on Thursday filed their nomination papers for the three Rajya Sabha seats from Assam on the last day of filing nominations.

On behalf of the BJP, state cabinet minister Yogen Mohan and Duliajan MLA Terash Gowalla submitted their nomination papers. For the third seat, United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) president Pramod Boro, a candidate of the BJP alliance, also filed his nomination.

During the nomination process, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, members of the state cabinet and several leaders of alliance partners including Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), UPPL and the BJP were present.

As no other political party has fielded candidates for the three seats so far, it is being widely expected that the BJP-led alliance nominees may be elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed.

The terms of three Rajya Sabha members from Assam — Bhubaneswar Kalita, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan and Rameswar Teli — are scheduled to end on April 9. At present, two of these seats are held by the BJP while one seat is held by the opposition.

Notably, March 5 is the last date for filing nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections. Polling for 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states, including Bihar, is scheduled for March 16. These include seven seats from Maharashtra, six from Tamil Nadu, five each from Bihar and West Bengal, four from Odisha, three from Assam, two each from Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Haryana, and one seat from Himachal Pradesh.

However, the final picture regarding whether polling will be required in Assam will become clear after March 9, the last date for withdrawal of nominations. If there is no contest for any seat, the candidates may be declared elected unopposed.-----------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash