Tasa, Baishya file papers for 2 RS seats in Assam

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Birendra Prasad Baishya on Tuesday filed nominations for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Assam, which will fall vacant on June 14.

"I have filed the nomination as the BJP leadership asked me to. It's an honour that the party has decided to field me for the Rajya Sabha seat. I will do my best for Assam as well as the nation," Tasa told the media.

Voting for the two seats, currently held by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Santiuse Kujur, will be held on June 7.

But Tasa and Baishya are likely to get elected unopposed as the Opposition Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) may not field their candidates as they lack numbers to win the elections.

A candidate requires at least 43 first preference votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat. While the Congress has 25 legislators in the House, the AIUDF has 13 legislators.

The BJP has 61 legislators and its allies, the AGP and the BPF has 14 and 12 MLAs, respectively, in the 126-member Assam Assembly. The BJP-led alliance also has the support of independents in the House.

"The opposition requires 42 votes to ensure victory of its candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections. They don't have the 42 legislators and hence it does not matter whether they would field candidates or not," BJP leader and convener of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Tuesday.

The BJP has said it will field a Bodoland People's Front (BPF) candidate for another Rajya Sabha seat, which will fall vacant next year after Bhubaneswar Kalita's term ends.

"Like we have given one Rajya Sabha seat to the AGP this time, we are going to put up a BPF candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections next year," Sarma said.

Assam has seven Rajya Sabha seats.--IANS

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