Guwahati, March 20: The Bharatiya Janata Party has replaced sitting MLA Ajay Kumar Rai with Arup Kumar Dey as its candidate for the Bijni Assembly constituency in Chirang district for the upcoming Assam Legislative Assembly elections 2026.
Reacting to the decision, Rai expressed dissatisfaction and raised questions over the party’s selection process, alleging that a candidate facing pending criminal cases had been preferred over him despite his own record in office. He claimed that during a prior interaction, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had asked Dey about pending cases, to which Dey had reportedly acknowledged having six cases against him.
Rai said that despite this, the party went ahead with Dey’s candidature from Bijni. He added that the decision was taken with the consent of party workers and the public, while indicating disappointment over being denied a ticket despite what he described as maintaining a clean record during his tenure.
