The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) on Friday declared Lurinjyoti Gogoi, its president and a notable figure in the anti-CAA movement in Assam, as its candidate for the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency.

AJP general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan announced this in Guwahati amidst the presence of leaders from the 16-party Opposition United Forum in Assam, including Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah and Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi.

Lurinjyoti Gogoi will challenge Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, under whose tenure as chief minister the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was enacted, sparking violent protests in the state resulting in five casualties.

The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency will vote in the first phase on April 19, along with Jorhat, Sonitpur, Kaziranga and Lakhimpur seats. Elections for the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam will span three phases — April 19, 26 and
May 7.

Akhil Gogoi urged Dibrugarh voters to elect Lurinjyoti, emphasising his unwavering commitment to safeguarding Assam from the CAA, unlike Sonowal, who he accused of supporting the law and capitulating to BJP leadership for personal gain.

The Opposition’s primary electoral plank is centred around the CAA, particularly in Dibrugarh, which witnessed violent protests following the passage of the bill in December 2019.

Acknowledging internal discord within the Opposition, Akhil Gogoi expressed confidence in resolving differences while urging leaders to rally behind Lurinjyoti and Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi in Jorhat.

The Congress has nominated candidates for 12 of the 14 seats, leaving the Dibrugarh seat for the AJP.

Shortly after Lurinjyoti’s nomination, the state AAP unit withdrew its candidate from the Guwahati Lok Sabha seat to prevent a split in anti-BJP votes, despite securing the “second highest vote” in the Guwahati Municipal polls after the BJP last year. AAP urged the Congress and the United Opposition Forum to reciprocate by withdrawing candidates from Sonitpur and Dibrugarh seats.

Apart from AAP, Trinamul is contesting four seats and the CPM one seat. Trinamul insiders indicated they won’t withdraw candidates but will support Opposition candidates where there’s no contest between alliance candidates, as in Dibrugarh.

Sitting Congress MP Abdul Khaleque resigned from the party after being denied renomination from the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency on Friday. Despite attempts by Borah to dissuade him, Khaleque remained firm in his decision. At a news conference in Guwahati on Saturday, Khaleque slams Borah and AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh, advocating for the allocation of four-five Muslim candidates in Assam, considering the community constitutes around 34 per cent of the state’s population of 3.2 crore.