Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the seat-sharing agreement within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming Assembly elections would be finalized by March 10. The Chief Minister had earlier stated that the seat-sharing arrangement with its allies was a “done deal” and that there was no issue in stitching a pre-poll alliance. Addressing the media in Guwahati, Sarma said discussions with two alliance partners are still ongoing and are expected to conclude soon.
“Talks with the BPF will be complete within a day or two while discussions with Asom Gana Parishad would be completed by March 9-10. So, we hope everything will be finalised by then and we will be able to announce the alliance by March 10,” the Chief Minister said.
Among the NDA constituents in the state, the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) have members in the assembly. Rabha Hasong Joutha Sangram Samiti (RHJSS) and Janashakthi Party (JP) are also part of the NDA, but they do not have any MLAs. The elections for the 126-member assembly are expected to take place in March-April. This will be the first election after the delimitation exercise, done in 2023. Post delimitation, many seats and their geographical boundaries have been changed, while some non-reserved seats were reserved and vice versa. This has led to complications within the ruling and opposition coalitions. At present, the BJP has 64 members in the assembly, while AGP has nine, UPPL has seven, and the BPF has three.
