BJP undecided on naming CM candidate for Assam polls: Himanta Biswa Sarma

The BJP has not decided whether it will announce a chief ministerial candidate for the Assam elections, state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday, accusing Congress leader Tarun Gogoi of creating a controversy by stating that the ruling party may nominate former chief justice Ranjan Gogoi for the top job.

The former chief justice is not even a member of the BJP and was nominated by the President to the Rajya Sabha, Sarma said on the sidelines of a plasma donation camp by journalists at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.

"The former chief minister has a habit of naming people out of context and creating unnecessary controversies," said Sarma, the convenor of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance.

The veteran Congress leader has claimed that he has heard that the former chief justice may be the BJP's chief ministerial candidate for the Assam elections due early next year.

The BJP has not even decided whether the party will announce the chief ministerial candidate prior to the assembly elections, Sarma said. "Tarun Gogoi has a grudge against me but drags in Ranjan Gogoi's name," he added.

Sarma further alleged that the former chief minister wants to secure his son and Kaliabor MP Gaurav Gogoi's seat and therefore encouraged the Congress to form an alliance with the AIUDF.

(Photo Credit: PTI)