Guwahati: BJP’s decision to introduce fresh faces by dropping 21 sitting MLAs paid off as the party won a third consecutive assembly election.Of the 90 candidates fielded by the BJP, 16 were first-time contenders. The list included six old party hands, including three serving state general secretaries who have worked for the organisation for decades, besides 10 youngsters.The strategic injection of new blood, which saw the party prioritize winnability, besides roping in prominent figures from rival camps, proved instrumental in the NDA’s decisive victory. The gamble yielded strong returns, with all the first-timers winning the election, helping the party emerge victorious in 82 seats on its own in the 126-member assembly.Assam BJP chief spokesperson Kishore Kumar Upadhyay said it is a natural exercise of the BJP to introduce new faces. “It is done based on the ground reports against the sitting MLAs as well as the newly introduced candidates. The party never gives ticket to any sitting MLA who is facing anti-incumbency and the winning probability is low,” Upadhyay said.The trend was observed in this election as well, and it paid off. “BJP performed extremely well in this election, crossing the majority mark of 64,” Upadhyay added.BJP denied tickets to 19 sitting MLAs including senior leader Siddhartha Bhattacharya, former deputy speaker Numal Momin, cabinet minister Nandita Gorlosa and Suman Haripriya, daughter of veteran BJP leader and three-time former MP from Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency, Bijoya Chakravarty.Upadhyay said pitching BJP’s old guard Vijay Kumar Gupta (70) in Guwahati Central proved to be a right decision. “Guwahati Central is a reconfigured seat due to the delimitation from the erstwhile Gauhati West seat, which was never won by BJP. The seat remained with BJP’s ally AGP in the 2016 and 2021 elections,” he added. Gupta was contesting an election for the first time.Besides Gupta, senior party worker Mridul Kumar Dutta contested from Dergaon while all three serving general secretaries — Diplu Ranjan Sarma (New Guwahati), former Lok Sabha MP and state minister Pallab Lochan Das (Biswanath) and Pulok Gohain (Tinsukia) — were given tickets for the first time and all of them won with sizeable margins.The youth were not to be left behind. Pabitra Rabha won the Goalpara West (ST) while Himanshu Shekhar Baishya (Palasbari), Dhiraj Gowala (Titatbor), Milon Das (Hailakandi), Rishiraj Hazarika (Ranganadi), Rupali Langthasa (Haflong, ST), Raju Mech (Boko-Chaygaon, ST) and Victor Kumar Das (Goreswar) were also among the winners.
