Union Minister Rajen Gohain denied BJP ticket

Rupak Sharma to contest from Nowgong LS seat

The BJP on Tuesday named Rupak Sharma for the Nowgong Lok Sabha seat in Assam in place of sitting MP and Union Minister Rajen Gohain, who has represented the constituency since 1999. Sharma is the sitting MLA from Nowgong assembly seat.

A press release by the secretary of the Central Election Committee of the BJP Jagat Prakash Nada said, Sharma's name was decided at a meeting attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The Gauhati High Court on Monday had quashed criminal proceedings against the Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain in a rape case.

Gohain, the four-time BJP MP from Nowgong, had earlier said that he would not contest the forthcoming polls until his name was cleared by the high court.

Nowgong will go to the polls on April 18.

The three-phase election for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam will be held on April 11, 18 and 23.