While Trinamul Congress is keen to enter into an electoral alliance with its UPA ally Congress in West Bengal, it has gone separate ways in Assam, deciding to fight the poll alone.
The party has already announced its first list of 55 candidates, including former minister Bijit Saikia from Tezpur Assembly seat, and is scheduled to announce a second list soon. It will contest 12 of the 15 Assembly seats in the Barak valley where there is a sizeable presence of Bengalis, and is confident of winning at least seven of them.
Meanwhile, the filing of nominations for the first phase of Assam Assembly elections closed on Thursday. Sixty-two constituencies spread over 13 districts of Upper Assam, Barak Valley and two hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar, will go to polls on April 4.
A total of 172 candidates have filed their nominations so far. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on Friday. — Agencies