By PTI
GUWAHATI: Opposition party Raijor Dal (RD) on Wednesday said that it will contest two out of five assembly seats in Assam where by-elections will be held on October 30.
Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi said that the party has decided to contest Thowra and Mariani seats and hopes to win both.
The two constituencies were bagged by Congress but its MLAs later resigned and switched over to the BJP.
“Dhaijya Konwar will contest Thowra on behalf of RD, and we will declare our Mariani candidate soon,” he told reporters.
He also appealed to the Congress, with whom RD had tried to project common candidates for the by-polls to defeat the ruling NDA, to support their nominees.
“If the Congress supports us, we will campaign for them in the remaining four seats,” Gogoi said.
By-election will also be held in three other seats in Assam — Bhabanipur, Tamulpur and Gossaigaon.
Though Majuli is also vacant, by-poll will not be held there this time as Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal resigned from the MLA’s post just hours before the schedule was announced by the EC.
Gogoi is the lone RD legislator in the 126-member assembly, and he was elected as an Independent.
The BJP now has 59 MLAs, while its allies AGP has nine, and UPPL has five legislators.
Congress has 27 lawmakers, AIUDF 15, BPF three and CPI(M) has one member in the House.
