The ruling BJP and its allies will contest all three Rajya Sabha seats that are set to fall vacant in Assam in April this year, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday, asserting that the coalition is confident of securing at least two of the seats.

Speaking to reporters, Sarma said the BJP, along with its allies—the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and other partners in the ruling coalition—will field candidates for all three seats. “The BJP, AGP and our united front will nominate candidates for all three seats. We will definitely win two. The third one we may win or lose,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha seats that will fall vacant are currently held by two BJP MPs—Bhubaneswar Kalita and Rameswar Teli—and one Independent MP, Ajit Bhuyan.

BJP targets all seats as numbers favour ruling alliance

Referring to the previous Rajya Sabha election, Sarma said the BJP-led alliance had chosen not to field a candidate against Ajit Bhuyan, believing he would remain neutral and work in the larger public interest. “We thought he was neutral and would work for good. But what he did with his Rajya Sabha MP funds, we all know,” the Chief Minister said, alluding to allegations of irregularities in the utilisation of Bhuyan’s MPLAD funds.

In the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly, the BJP currently has 64 MLAs. Its allies—the AGP, United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF)—have nine, seven and three MLAs respectively, giving the ruling alliance a comfortable numerical advantage.

On the opposition benches, the Congress has 26 MLAs, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has 15, and the CPI(M) has one legislator, along with one Independent MLA.

With the numbers clearly favouring the ruling coalition, the BJP-led alliance is aiming to consolidate its position in the Upper House from Assam, even as it acknowledges a closely fought contest for the third seat.

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