GUWAHATI: The Congress has named former BJP leader Jayanta Bora as its candidate for the bye-election to the Behali Assembly seat in Assam.
Indian National Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made the announcement late on October 23.
Bora, however, is yet to officially join the Congress.
Assam will have bye-elections to five seats vacated by legislators who have joined the Lok Sabha.
Bora’s appointment has exposed fissures within the opposition alliance. Congress state president Bhupen Kumar Borah recently resigned as the alliance head following pressure after the Congress high command rejected the Asom Sonmilito Morcha's (ASOM) nominee, Bibek Das, from the CPI(ML) Liberation.
ASOM's members had agreed that Congress would field candidates in four of the five bye-poll seats, leaving Behali for the alliance. However, local Congress leaders from Biswanath district opposed this decision, favouring their own candidates, Dilip Kumar Baruah and Premlal Ganju.
"Please do not test our patience. We too have self-respect. We need to stay united till the 2026 assembly elections to defeat the BJP. We are waiting for a response, but Congress cannot disrespect the united mandate of all opposition parties," said ASOM general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi had earlier said.
In his resignation letter, Borah expressed frustration that the Congress high command, the All India Congress Committee (AICC), had not accepted the recommendations of the five-member committee regarding the candidate. He stated that he felt unable to enforce decisions and thus resigned from his role as president of Assam’s opposition alliance.
Congress general secretary Jitendra Singh urged Borah in a letter to collaborate with ASOM to field a strong candidate. Singh noted that Bibek Das had contested Behali several times without success, often losing deposits, and questioned why ASOM's executive committee did not make a merit-based decision.
The bye-polls are scheduled for five constituencies—Dholai, Sidli, Bongaigaon, Behali, and Samaguri.
The deadline for filing nominations is October 25, with scrutiny on October 28 and withdrawal on October 30. Polling will take place on November 13, and the votes will be counted on November 23.