rain-fails-to-dampen-spirits-as-poll-campaigning-ends-in-assam-before-phase-3

Bike rallies, roadshows, public rallies and door-to-door campaigns despite heavy rain marked the last day of the third and final phase of Lok Sabha polls covering four seats in Assam  on Sunday.

 

The constituencies in the final phase are Dhubri, Barpeta, Kokrajhar (ST), and Guwahati. Voting is scheduled to take place on May 7.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress president Mallikarun Kharge, AICC leader Priyanka Gandhi, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal were the star campaigners in the state.

 

Opposition parties, led by Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, Raijor Dal's Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad's Lurinjyoti Gogoi, took on the ruling party on issues such as the Centre's decision to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which clears the path for granting citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, unemployment, connectivity, infrastructure and price rise.

 

Lack of industrial development and benefits of schemes not reaching people targeted for were also highlighted.

 

The BJP campaign highlighted  the various development schemes of both the Central and state governments and the achievements of the party.

 

 Barpeta has the highest number of candidates at 14, while Guwahati has the lowest with eight. Dhubri has 13 candidates and Kokrajhar 12.

 

In Guwahati, BJP's Bijuli Kalita Medhi and Congress candidate Mira Borthakur Goswami, who is also the president of Assam Mahila Congress, both debutants in Lok Sabha polls, are pitted against each other.

 

In Barpeta, a triangular contest is expected between NDA partner Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Phanibhushan Choudhury, Congress's Deep Bayan and CPI(M)'s Manoranjan Talukdar.

 

In Dhubri, AIUDF strongman Badruddin Ajmal seeking a fourth term. He is locked in a triangular contest with Congress canditate and former minister MLA Rakibul Hussain and AGP's Zaved Islam.

 

Kokrajhar (ST) again will have a triangular contest between NDA partner United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) Jayanta Basumtary, Congress Garjen Mushahary, and Bodoland People's Front's (BPF) Kampa Borgoyary.

 

In the first phase polls held on April 19, 78.25 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise to decide the fate of 35 candidates for Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur constituencies.

 

In the second phase held on April 26, 81.17 per cent of the electorate cast their votes to decide the fate of 61 candidates for Karimganj, Silchar(SC), Diphu (ST), Nagaon and Darrang-Udalguri.

 

In the outgoing Lok Sabha, BJP held nine seats, Congress three, AIUDF and an independent one each from the state.