Assam elections 2026: BJP announces list of candidates; CM Himanta Sarma to contest from Jalukbari

New Delhi: bjp The list of 88 candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections was released on Thursday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Ready to compete in his traditional Jalukbari seat.The names of candidates in the Sisibergon constituency have been withheld. Under the new seat-sharing arrangement, the PPP will contest 89 seats, the AGP 26 seats and the BPF 11 seats in the 126-member parliament. Among the prominent candidates, Pradyut Bordoloi, who resigned as Congress MP a few days ago to join the BJP, has been fielded from Dispur assembly constituency.Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary will contest from the Tamilpur (ST) seat, while another Congress-to-BJP leader Bhupen Borah has been nominated from Bipriya. Bora also served as Assam Congress president. The list includes several key figures and represents a mix of continuity and change, with the party ditching 11 sitting MLAs and fielding just five female candidates.The news comes after the Electoral Commission announced the voting schedule last week. The 126-member Assam Assembly will go to polls in a phased manner on April 9 and counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.The BJP is seeking to retain power in the state, with Sarma aiming to be re-elected as chief minister. In the 2021 election, the National Democratic Alliance, composed of the People’s Party, People’s Party and the United People’s Party Liberal Party, won 75 seats, of which the People’s Party won 60 seats.Seeking to consolidate the NDA ahead of the polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday brought back the five-year-old Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) under its banner and consolidated seat-sharing with the AGP, even as its current government partner, the Bodoland-based United People’s Liberal Party (UPPL), earlier quit the NDA citing ideological differences. The opposition Congress has announced candidates for 65 constituencies as part of its alliance strategy, with state president and deputy Lok Sabha leader Gaurav Gogoi leading the campaign.