Congress wins three Rajya Sabha seats in Assam

The nominees of the ruling Congress party in Assam and its alliance partner Bodoland People's Front (BPF) won the three Rajya Sabha seats Friday.

The winners are Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhubneswar Kalita, Lok Sabha member from Sultanpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh Sanjay Singh and BPF leader Biswajit Daimary.

While the Congress had fielded three candidates, journalist and former editor of a vernacular newspaper Haidar Hussain also contested as an independent candidate for one seat with support of the opposition parties, including Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the BJP and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).

"While Kalita and Singh got 32 votes each, Daimary polled 29 votes. The opposition- backed candidate Haidar Hussain could garner only 26 votes," said Gauranga Prasad Das, returning officer of the election.

"Six votes of the opposition parties were invalid," he added.

Out of the 126 legislators of the Assam assembly, only 125 cast their votes as one of the MLAs was away on Haj pilgrimage and could not cast his vote.

At present the strength of the Congress in the Assam assembly is 79, while the BPF has 12 MLAs.

The AIUDF has 18 legislators, followed by five of the BJP and nine of the AGP. There is one Trinamool Congress legislator in the assembly and two independents.