Rains play spoilsport as campaign ends

Heavy rains played spoilsport on the last day of campaigning for the six Lok Sabha seats in Assam that will decide fate of 48 candidates.

Heavy rains played spoilsport on the last day of campaigning for the six Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam that will decide the fate of 48 candidates on April 20.

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The three main contenders--Congress, BJP and AGP---made last ditch efforts to woo the electorate despite heavy rains but campaigning was low-key and lacklustre.

Several election meetings, including that of matinee idol Hema Malini in Sonitpur, were cancelled due to heavy rains.

Altogether 7,091,939 voters, including 3,685,738 male and 3,406,171 female, will exercise their franchise in 8,311 polling stations of the six constituencies of Guwahati, Dhubri, Tezpur, Kokrajhar, Mangaldoi and Barpeta.

Official sources said the state government has taken adequate measures to prevent violence during polls and 136 companies of CRPF along with BSF, CISF and other paramilitary forces have been deployed.

Prominent candidates whose fate will be decided in the first phase are Assamese cultural icon Dr Bhupen Hazarika of BJP from Gauhati, lottery baron Moni Kumar Subba of Congress along with media and construction baron G L Agarwal of BJP from Tezpur, former Assam Home minister and key player in the foreigners stir Bhrigu Kumar Phukan of AGP, Dr Jayashree Goswami Mahanta, wife of former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta as an Independent from Dhubri along with Jabeen Borbhuyan who has the rare distinction of being the BJP's sole women muslim candidate in the country.