Assam polls: Congress hits out at Ratabari BJP face over his citizenship

SILCHAR: BJP’s decision to renominate sitting MLA Bijoy Malakar from the Ratabari (SC) constituency in Sribhumi has triggered a fresh political storm, with Congress seeking to make his citizenship status a key campaign issue.Malakar, who first won the seat in a 2019 bypoll and retained it in the 2021 assembly elections, is facing a petition in the Gauhati high court filed in Dec 2025 seeking his disqualification. The petition, moved by local residents Braja Gopal Sinha and Bijoy Kumar Kanu, alleges discrepancies in Malakar’s electoral records, claiming his name first appeared in the 2005 supplementary voters’ list without linkage to the 1966 or 1971 rolls. The plea names the state govt, Election Commission, Assam assembly speaker and Malakar as respondents. The court has issued notices seeking their responses.Congress candidate from the seat, Suruchi Roy, said Malakar’s citizenship was “under controversy” and questioned the legality of his candidature. “We will go to the people and say that a person with doubtful citizenship should not be voted,” Roy said after filing her nomination.