Even as the opposition’s seat-sharing deal is yet to be sealed for 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Congress, the principal opposition party in Assam, will soon initiate the process of accepting formal applications from its aspiring candidates for all the 14 parliamentary constituencies of Assam.
A source in Congress told TOI that it will start accepting the applications anytime after December 3, the scheduled date for declaration of results of the recently concluded Mizoram assembly polls. However, the process may start from November.
A “probable list” of 84 aspiring candidates from 14 Lok Sabha seats, compiled by Assam Congress, miffed its alliance partners recently. Some of the leaders of the alliance accused the grand old party of sidelining the aspirations of its coalition partners.
“Congress is going ahead to accept the applications from all 14 seats. If the INDIA bloc and AICC decide to offer some seats to other parties to contest, then we will withdraw our candidates from those seats. But as a party, Congress is strong enough in Assam and will go ahead with its own set of plans,” a senior Congress leader said.
Opposition politics is being taken forward by two alliances in Assam — as INDIA bloc and United Opposition Forum (UOF). The UOF has 15 parties, which also include Jatiya Dal (JD), Raijor Dal (RD) and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).