Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday revealed the NDA's seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, saying the BJP will contest 89 seats, its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) will contest 26, and the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) will contest 11.
He announced after attending a preliminary BJP meeting in New Delhi, adding that a parliamentary board meeting will be held tomorrow to finalise the agreement.
The BJP will announce its list of candidates for the Assam elections on Wednesday night or Thursday morning, Sarma said.
"Today, we had preliminary discussions regarding our party list. Tomorrow is our Parliamentary Board meeting. I think the list will be announced late tomorrow night or the next morning," he added.
On media queries about speculation that Congress MP from Nagaon, Pradyut Bordoloi, may switch sides and get a BJP ticket, the chief minister said he is not in touch with him, but the BJP leadership might be in talks with him.
"I am not in touch with Pradyut Bordoloi. If he had spoken to the Union Home Minister, I would know, but I don't think he has spoken to any BJP leader yet. There is a possibility that we can have contact with Pradyut Bordoloi," he added.
How current NDA seat-sharing compares to 2021 elections
In the 2021 Assam Assembly Elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contested 93 seats and won 60, while the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which was allotted 25 seats, contested 29 seats and secured 9. Another NDA partner, the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), was given 8 seats but fielded candidates in 11 constituencies and won 6. Overall, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) clinched 75 seats in the 126-member Assam Assembly.
Friendly fights in 2021
There were some friendly contests between the alliance partners in the 2021 Assam Assembly polls as the BJP and the AGP contested against each other in Lakhimpur, Naharkatia, Patharkandi, and Algapur. Similarly, the BJP and the UPPL contested against each other in Bijni, Kalaigaon, and Majbat.
