New Delhi: The Congress party on Saturday issued its second list of 23 candidates for the upcoming Assam Legislative Assembly elections, while also allocating 15 constituencies to its regional allies.

With the latest announcement, the party has now finalised 65 names for the 126-member state assembly. The election, slated for April, finds Congress attempting to reclaim power in the northeastern state for the first time since 2016.

The second roster, authorised by Congress General Secretary for Organisation K.C. Venugopal, includes the following nominations:

  • Nurul Islam will stand from Srijangram.
  • Abdul Khaleque is set to contest in Mandia.
  • Rakibuddin Ahmed will represent the party in Chamaria.
  • Devid Phukan has been named for the Tinsukia seat.
  • Bipul Gogoi will contest from Tingkhong.

Continuing its strategy of coalition politics, the party has reserved several seats for its alliance partners, including the constituencies of Bajali, Palasbari, Guwahati Central, Goreswar, Morigaon, and Barhampur.

The party’s initial list of 42 candidates, released March 3, featured state unit chief Gaurav Gogoi as the candidate for Jorhat. In an effort to establish an early campaign presence before the official poll declaration, Congress had previously confirmed that Debabrata Saikia, the Congress Legislature Party leader, would seek re-election from Nazira, while former state president Ripun Bora would contest from Barchalla.

With inputs from PTI