AGP, BJP candidates' lists firm up Congress hope: APCC chief

The Congress party in Assam on Friday said the candidates' lists announced by the BJP and AGP for upcoming polls have ensured that the ruling party gets more than 70 seats, exceeding its expectation in the two-phase polls.

Assam will go to polls on April 4 and April 11. While polling in 65 legislative assembly constituencies, out of the total 126, will be held in the first phase on April 4, balloting in the remaining 61 constituencies will be conducted in the second phase on April 11.

"We were expecting to win 70 seats in the forthcoming polls. The list of candidates announced by the AGP and BJP has furthered our winning prospect," said Assam Pradesh Congress chief Anjan Dutta on Friday.

"We are going to win more than 70 seats now," he said while interacting with media persons on the sidelines of a function here.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already announced 88 candidates for the forthcoming polls, its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has also announced a list of 24 candidates.

The BJP, the AGP, and Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF), "which is the ruling party in Bodoland Territorial Council BTC) that runs the administration in four district of Assam", are going to the polls together this time in a bid to keep the ruling Congress out of power.

Dutta said the Congress will declare its first list of candidates by next Tuesday.

He said while the sitting legislators of the party will be given tickets, tickets will also be given to new faces to recover those constituencies which were the Congress stronghold in the past.

--Indo-Asian news Service

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