'Done deal': Himanta Sarma on NDA seat-sharing for Assam polls

Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the seat-sharing arrangement within the NDA for the Assam assembly elections was a "done deal".

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 Janashakti Party (JP) are also part of the NDA, but they do not have any MLAs.

"Our NDA alliance is complete. We know who will contest where; it is a done deal. There is no issue in stitching the alliance," Sarma told reporters at the state BJP headquarters.

"After every process is complete, the state leadership will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah with the list of probable candidates," he added.

On January 7, Sarma had said the BJP was likely to formalise its seat-sharing agreement with its allies by February 15.

On December 5 last year, he had said the finalisation was expected to be over by January 15.

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.

In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15, and CPI(M) has one. There is one Independent legislator as well.