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Assam assembly elections: All set for 1st phase; biggies including CM in fray
Apart from CM Sonowal, the first phase will also have AGP chief Atul Bora in fray from Bokakhat and state Congress chief Ripun Bora from Gohpur.
With filing of nominations coming to a close on Tuesday, battle lines for the first phase of Assam assembly polls on March 27 have been drawn. The crucial phase, where 47 seats in 11 districts, especially in upper Assam go for polls, would see many political bigwigs including chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in fray.
On Tuesday, Sonowal filed nomination papers from Majuli, the world’s largest river island, which he represented in 2016 as well. The CM was accompanied by Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president Atul Bora, state BJP chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass and senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other dignitaries.
“We all want peace, security and development. And the BJP-led coalition has been able to provide all that successfully in the past five years. I thank you all for your blessings and seek your support again,” Sonowal said at a rally later.
Besides the CM, the first phase will also have AGP chief Atul Bora in fray from Bokakhat and state Congress chief Ripun Bora from Gohpur. Chiefs of two newly formed parties, Lurinjyoti Gogoi of Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and Akhil Gogoi of Raijor Dal, are also contesting on March 27.
“Grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love and support of people, who joined me during the filing of nomination. Congress will win all the seats, we are contesting,” Ripun Bora said on Monday.
Lurinjyoti will be contesting from Duliajana and Naharkatiya, while Akhi, who’s under arrest since December 2019 for his role in anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, filed his nomination papers from Guwahati Medical College Hospital for Sivasagar and Mariani seats.
The seats in the first phase would be important for BJP, if they have to achieve their target of winning over 100 of the total 126 seats in the assembly. In 2016, the BJP-AGP combine had won 35 of these 47 seats, helping the saffron party to come to power for the first time in Assam.
“Congress will not be able to win a single seat in upper Assam in the first phase. In 2016, we had won 27 of these seats. This time we will win seven more seats,” state BJP chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass said.
Constituencies in the first phase fall in the tea-rich belt and both BJP and Congress have tried their best to woo the tea-tribe community whose votes play a decisive role in about 35-40 seats in the first phase.
Besides several schemes for the community launched by the state government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed his first public meeting in Sivasagar in January. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also addressed a rally at Sivasagar and promised to increase daily wages of tea garden workers to ₹365 if the party comes to power.
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The first phase would witness a battle of turncoats in Golaghat, where former Congress minister Ajanta Neog, who joined BJP recently, would face her former saffron party rival Bitupan Saikia, who joined Congress a few days back after being denied a ticket.
Another seat in focus would be Titabar, which was represented by former CM Tarun Gogoi, who passed away in November. This time Congress has given ticket from this seat to businessman-cum-tea grower Bhaskar Jyoti Hazarika.
