Lok Sabha Polls: Congress Fields Former BJP Leader Uday Shankar Hazarika From Assam's Lakhimpur

New Delhi: The Congress named Uday Shankar Hazarika as its candidate for the Lakhimpur Lok Sabha constituency in Assam. Hazarika had quit the ruling BJP a few months ago and joined the grand old party.

He is expected to be in a direct contest with incumbent two-term BJP MP Pradhan Baruah, with the constituency going to the polls in the first phase on April 19. The Congress is contesting 13 out of the 14 seats in the state, and though the party announced candidates in 12 seats on March 12, the nominee for Lakhimpur was not declared.

The Congress is supporting the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) in Diburgarh. The Congress has three MPs from the state in the outgoing Lok Sabha, while the BJP has nine, and one seat each is held by the AIUDF and an Independent.