State Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma (Image Courtesy : Twitter)
Assam Minister and convener of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA, the north-east wing of NDA), Himanta Biswa Sarma, submitted his nomination for the Jalukbari seat today despite having declared that he wouldn't contest in the upcoming elections. Sarma, who holds Finance, Health, Education, PWD and other portfolios, won from Jalukbari in 2016 with a margin of over 85,000 votes.
The Congress-turned-BJP leader submitted his candidature at Deputy Commissioner's office in Panbazar, Guwahati, as senior leaders including Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal, Manipur CM N Biren Singh, BJP national Vice-President Baijayant Jay Panda, Union Minister Rameswar Teli and others held a 3-hour-long roadshow.
"I expect that the winning margin would be increased this time and would be in between 1,20,000 to 1,50,000," Sarma told the media.
Sarma has been elected from Jalukbari for three consecutive terms as a Congress nominee starting from 2001. He resigned from Congress in 2015 and contested as a BJP candidate in 2016. Sarma's candidature has also raised debates on the BJP's Chief Minister candidate as the party hasn't committed to declaring its incumbent CM Sonowal as CM candidate, yet. Jalukbari shall go to the polls in the third phase on April 6th.