Raising the pitch of high-voltage campaigning for Assembly elections in Assam, Union home minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah will on Wednesday address three public rallies in the state, where the second phase of campaigning freshly concluded a day earlier.
Shah will address the rallies in Bijni, Hajo and Dispur.
The ruling BJP - seeking to return to power - has rushed a battery of leaders from across the country to campaign intensely in Assam and other poll-bound states. Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior BJP leaders including Union ministers Smriti Irani, Jitendra Singh, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are among those who have campaigned in Assam. Senior state BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma also extensively campaigned in the state.
The key players including the ruling NDA, Congress-led Mahajath have made hard efforts to woo voters on 39 seats that will go to the polls on April 1.
The second phase of elections will decide the fate of 345 candidates in 39 seats across 13 districts (of the total 126), where over 7.3 million voters will exercise their franchise. In the first phase, polling took place in 47 seats in 12 districts on March 27. In the third and final phase, 40 seats will go to polls on April 6.
{{/usCountry}}The second phase of elections will decide the fate of 345 candidates in 39 seats across 13 districts (of the total 126), where over 7.3 million voters will exercise their franchise. In the first phase, polling took place in 47 seats in 12 districts on March 27. In the third and final phase, 40 seats will go to polls on April 6.
{{/usCountry}}Prominent candidates in the second phase include Parimal Suklabaidya (Dholai), Pijush Hazarika (Jagiroad), Bhabesh Kalita (Rangia), all ministers in the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, and the assembly deputy speaker Aminul Haque Laskar (Sonai).
The main contest is seen to be between the alliances led by BJP and Congress.
The BJP-led led alliance also includes the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL).
Congress has stitched a broad alliance that includes All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, the Anchalik Gana Marcha (AGM) and the Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF).
Jailed activist Akhil Gogoi's Raijor Dal has stitched an alliance with Assam Jatiya Parishad.
The BJP is banking on the performance of the Sarbanand Sonowal government in the state in the past five years, the initiatives of the central government and the appeal of PM Modi.
Polling for the last phase will be held on April 6 and counting of votes will take place on May 2.
The first phase took place on March 27 with a voter turnout of nearly 77 per cent.
(With inputs from PTI)