Guwahati: Raijor Dal has announced candidates for two additional constituencies for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam, taking the total number of nominees declared by the party so far to 13.
In a statement issued on March 14, party president and MLA Akhil Gogoi named Harikanta Das as the party’s candidate from the Naoboicha Assembly constituency and Babul Sonowal from the Dhemaji Assembly constituency.
Earlier, the party had released its first list of 11 candidates on March 4.
Raijor Dal, which was earlier part of the opposition alliance in the state, has decided to contest the elections independently after its seat-sharing negotiations with the Indian National Congress failed to reach an agreement.
In the previous Assembly elections, Gogoi had won the Sivasagar Assembly constituency as an Independent candidate. He currently represents Raijor Dal as the party’s lone MLA in the Assembly, although his name has not appeared in either of the candidate lists released so far.
In the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party holds 64 seats. Among its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad has nine MLAs, the United People’s Party Liberal has seven, and the Bodoland People’s Front holds three seats.
On the opposition benches, the Congress has 26 MLAs, the All India United Democratic Front has 15 members, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has one MLA, besides one Independent legislator in the House.