Assam’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has shortlisted potential candidates for the upcoming by-elections in three assembly seats: Behali, Dhalai, and Samaguri. The decision was made during a meeting of the state BJP’s election committee, which includes Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and other key party leaders.

The committee finalized the list of likely candidates after detailed discussions on the by-election. Three names of probable candidates from each of the three seats have been forwarded to the party’s parliamentary board, which will make the final decision on the candidates. The parliamentary board is expected to announce the names of the selected candidates within the next few days.

The by-elections were necessitated after five assembly seats in Assam fell vacant following the Lok Sabha polls. Two BJP MLAs, including a cabinet minister, one each from alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL), and one from opposition Congress won the Lok Sabha general elections.

Notably, the BJP will not contest the Sidli and Bongaigaon seats, instead supporting its coalition partners, UPPL and AGP, in those constituencies. In the 2021 assembly polls, UPPL won the Sidli seat, while AGP secured the Bongaigaon seat.

The vacant seats are a result of the Lok Sabha poll wins by BJP’s Parimal Suklabaidya and Ranjit Dutta, AGP’s Phani Bhushan Choudhury, UPPL’s Joyanta Basumatary, and Congress’s Rakibul Hussain.