The Assam unit of the BJP on Sunday said it had not yet held any meeting to choose its candidate for the Rajya Sabha election, days after cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hinted that former Congress MP Bhubaneswar Kalita, who had joined the BJP in August last year, would be its candidate.

“We have not held any formal meeting on the issue. Soon along with chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, convener of North East Democratic Alliance (Neda) Himanta Biswa Sarma and other senior party leaders we will prepare a panel of candidates which will be sent to our national committee. We will accept whoever is chosen by the national committee,” said state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass.

Election to three Rajya Sabha seats in Assam will be held on March 26.

The seats of Bhubaneswar Kalita, Sanjay Singh and Biswajit Daimary will fall vacant on April 9.

Dass said their candidate would be from Assam as it was only the Congress culture to field Rajya Sabha candidates from outside the state. Dass said the BJP would leave one seat to its alliance partner Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).

Sarma on Friday said that Union home minister Amit Shah had mentioned the name of the BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidate.

He referred to the September 2019 Neda convention where Shah talked about Kalita’s possibility of getting re-elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Dass also welcomed the Centre’s move for delimitation in Assam.

“We heartily welcome the decision as we believe in one nation one rule. The delimitation was done in the entire country, but at that time the Congress in Assam urged the Centre to put the process on hold citing law-and-order problem,” he said.

“As population of the state has increased, there is a need for delimitation. We welcome the notification of the Centre on delimitation. The BJP will have nothing to gain or lose from delimitation,” Dass said.

Regarding reports that Shah had denied possibility of introducing inner-line permits (ILP) in Assam, Dass said: “A state must be a tribal state to get the ILP. As far as I know there is hardly any legal stand on giving the ILP to Assam.”

Regarding reports of joining the BJP by the second son of Pranab Gogoi, former Speaker and Congress MLA from Sivasagar who has passed away recently, Dass said he had no knowledge about it. “I have only got media reports that he will join the BJP,” he said.