BJP drops 19 sitting MLAs, including Atul Bora, and fields several former Congress leaders as it reshapes its Assam poll strategy across 88 seats
Denied a ticket by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the prestigious Dispur seat, sitting MLA Atul Bora now faces an uncertain political future as he weighs his options after being replaced by former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi.
Bora, who has represented Dispur since 2016, is among 19 sitting MLAs, including a minister, who were dropped as the party fielded several new and younger candidates, including a sizeable number of those who switched sides from the Congress, across 88 constituencies where candidates were announced on Wednesday.
“Now I have three options. Contest as an independent, extend my support to the Congress candidate or do nothing. I will hear my supporters before taking a decision,” said the 66-year-old after the ticket was denied to him.
A sizeable section of the ruling party’s candidates are former Congress members—some who switched over a decade ago, such as chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and others like Bordoloi, who resigned as a Lok Sabha MP and joined the BJP just a day before being given a ticket. A review of the party’s list shows that around 19 candidates have a Congress background.
