Guwahati:

The BJP on Wednesday announced the names of three candidates, all fresh faces, for the second phase, taking the total number of contestants to 74 for the first two phases of assembly elections in Assam. Controversial sitting BJP MLA from Hojai, Shiladitya Dev, known for making provocative remarks against immigrant Muslims and at times against his own party members, has been denied ticket and replaced by Ramakrishna Ghosh.

Reacting to the development, Mr Dev wrote on his Facebook page, “Finally, I have been kicked out of BJP”. Sitting BJP MLA from Sipajhar, Binanda Saikia, has also been also denied ticket with former Assam Sahitya Sabha president Parmananda Rajbongshi, who joined the saffron party recently from the AGP, fielded from the seat in Darrang district.

The party has nominated Milan Das from Hailakandi constituency instead of Soumyajit Dutta Choudhury who had lost the seat to AIUDF’s Anwar Hussain Laskar by 2,608 votes in 2016. The BJP is contesting 74 of the 86 assembly constituencies going to polls in the first two phases while the others have been left for its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).

In the first phase, 22 sitting MLAs of BJP will be contesting the polls while in the second, nine have been allotted the same seat. Barring the candidature of NEDA convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma from Jalukbari and state party president Ranjeet Kumar Dass from Pathacharkuchi, the BJP is yet to announce the names of candidates for the third phase polls for 40 constituencies on April 6.