Assam TMC withdraws Nagaon bypoll candidate over EC order
KRC TIMES Assam Bureau
Guwahati | Nomination papers of 18 of the 25 candidates who filed their papers for the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll in Assam have been found valid following scrutiny on Friday, according to an official statement. Among the candidates whose nominations were accepted are BJP’s Devasish Sharma, Congress nominee Sibamoni Bora and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.
The last date for withdrawal of candidature is Saturday, after which the final list of candidates will be released. Voting for the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll will be held on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.
The bypoll was necessitated after former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Lok Sabha ahead of the Assam Assembly election earlier this year and joined the BJP. Bordoloi subsequently contested and won the Dispur Assembly seat.
The Nagaon contest has attracted attention with candidates from the BJP, Congress and AIUDF among those in the fray, along with other contenders. The Assam unit of the Trinamool Congress on Friday withdrew its candidate from the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll, protesting the Election Commission’s decision to temporarily freeze the party’s original name and election symbol.
The party had fielded educationist Abdul Salam for the October 6 bypoll. Assam TMC convenor and MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed said the state unit supported party chairperson Mamata Banerjee’s decision to protest the Election Commission’s move.
Ahmed described the EC decision as “unjust and undemocratic” and said the party had decided not to contest the Nagaon election in protest. The Election Commission has temporarily barred the use of the All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol amid an internal dispute between rival factions of the party.
On Friday, the poll panel allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol to the faction led by Mamata Banerjee. The rival faction was allotted the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Envelope’ symbol. The arrangement is interim and will remain in force pending the EC’s final decision on the dispute.
The withdrawal means the TMC will not have a candidate in the Nagaon bypoll, scheduled for October 6. The bypoll was necessitated after former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Lok Sabha and subsequently joined the BJP. He later won the Dispur Assembly seat in the Assam polls.
