The nomination papers of all four candidates for elections to three Rajya Sabha seats from Assam were found valid during scrutiny on Wednesday. The nomination papers of two sitting members - Congress Assam unit President Bhubaneswar Kalita and Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) member Biswajit Daimary - along with the other Congress nominee Sanjay Singh and combined opposition candidate Haidar Hussain were found valid, Assam Assembly Principal Secretary G.P.Das said.
Mr.Kalita, a three time Rajya Sabha member, and Lok Sabha Congress MP from Sultanpur Sanjay Singh had filed their nomination papers on Tuesday while Congress supported BPF candidate Mr.Daimary had filed papers on January 27.
In a rare show of unity, three opposition parties of the State Assembly— BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF)— came together to nominate noted journalist Haidar Hussain as the fourth candidate who filed his papers on the last day of nominations on Wednesday.
The last day of withdrawal of nomination papers is January 31. Elections for the three seats would be held on February 7 and the entire election process shall be completed by February 10. The current term of sitting members Mr.Kalita, Mr.Daimary and AGP’s Birendra Prasad Baishya ends on April 9.
There are seven Rajya Sabha seats from Assam with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also representing the State in the Upper House.
