Guwahati, March 19: The BJP today named Ranoj Pegu, 51, as the party's candidate for the Dhemaji Assembly bypoll scheduled to be held on April 9. Pegu, a prominent leader representing the Mising community in Upper Assam, joined the BJP here yesterday. He was the chief executive councillor of the Mising Autonomous Council.

Pegu is likely to file his nomination papers tomorrow in the presence of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, AGP president and agriculture minister Atul Bora and BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary.

The AGP's decision not to contest the bypoll has led to protests by the party's Dhemaji unit. Today it gave a deadline to the party high command till 2pm tomorrow to announce the name of the party candidate for the bypoll, failing which it would be "forced" to field its candidate.

The secretary of the AGP's Dhemaji unit, Tulon Konwar, told this correspondent that they would meet at the party's district headquarters tomorrow afternoon.

The district unit of the AGP has been demanding a party ticket for their leader Paramananda Sonowal.

The AGP general secretary and West Guwahati MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita said the decision not to field any candidate in the Dhemaji was taken in the interest of the party's alliance with the BJP. The bypoll has been necessitated due to sitting BJP MLA Pradan Baruah's election to the Lok Sabha in November last year. The Assam unit of the Congress today slammed Pegu for joining the BJP, saying that his personal political ambition superseded the interest of the community.

Assam PCC senior spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharya told reporters here today that Pegu, who had led the anti-big dam movement from the front, joined the BJP which had supported construction of a big dam that would affect the Mising community. "When the Congress was in power, Pegu was made the executive member of the Mising Autonomous Council as he had promised that he would work for development of the community. But what came out yesterday was quite the opposite," he said.

He said people of Dhemaji constituency would decide whether they should vote for Pegu who "even does not belong to the constituency". "On the other hand, our candidate Babul Sonowal is young and quite popular," he said.