Former Assam BJP president Siddhartha Bhattacharya, a two-term MLA from the erstwhile Gauhati East seat, said on Friday he harbours no resentment after being denied a party ticket for the reconstituted New Guwahati constituency as the state heads into the Assembly polls. The BJP has named Diplu Ranjan Sarmah, a young leader and the party’s state general secretary, as its candidate for New Guwahati.
An advocate by profession, Bhattacharya — who joined the BJP in 1995 — thanked voters of his home constituency for their support over the past decade. He said his primary identity has always been that of an advocate and noted he was associated with the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch until 2011. “BJP first fielded me in Gauhati East in 2011 against Congress, where I lost narrowly. Despite the setback, I continued to work tirelessly,” he said.
Bhattacharya recalled that the party gave him another chance in 2016, when he won the seat by over one lakh votes and became an MLA for the first time. He retained the constituency in the 2021 election, held amid the Covid-19 pandemic and statewide protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act, winning by a large margin.
During his decade as the representative of the city’s only urban constituency, Bhattacharya said his record in the state assembly reflects his work for residents’ welfare. “I undertook several initiatives for the welfare of residents, particularly through the construction and reconstruction of key sub-arterial roads,” he said.
On being denied a ticket this time, Bhattacharya was emphatic about his stance toward the party: “I harbour no resentment toward the party leadership. I have had the honour of serving this constituency for 10 years, and the people embraced me as one of their own.”
Bhattacharya’s electoral journey includes a narrow defeat in 2011 to Congress leader Robin Bordoloi, son of Assam’s first chief minister Gopinath Bordoloi, and subsequent victories over Bobbeeta Sharma in 2016 and Ashima Bordoloi in 2021. His father, veteran left leader Gauri Sankar Bhattacharya, represented Assam at the first CPI convention in 1943, became the state’s first CPI MLA in 1957, and later founded the People’s Democratic Party of Assam in 1969.
Original Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/bjps-siddhartha-bows-out-of-assam-poll-race-gracefully-says-no-resentment-over-ticket-denial/articleshow/129701060.cms
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Publish Date: 2026-03-20 18:02:00
