Guwahati: As the polling date for the first phase of Assam legislative assembly elections is approaching, the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) along with its alliance partners have geared up with massive poll campaigns. The first phase polling, scheduled for 27 March, witnesses over 265 candidates contesting for 47 seats (out of 126
assembly constituencies), mostly in eastern Assam.
Many important candidates are in the fray including State chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, legislative assembly speaker Hitendranath Goswami (both are senior BJP leaders), State minister (president of Asom Gana Parishad) Atul Bora, State Congress chief Ripun Bora, assembly’s opposition leader Debabrat Saikia (Congress), Asom Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi, Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi, etc.
The saffron party remains at the front for campaigning with a number of heavyweights are on the scheduled visits to Assam in the coming days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to the State on 18 and 20 March to address a number of poll-rallies including one in Barak valley. Saffron party president JP Nadda, Union home minister Amit Shah are also following the trail.
Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union textiles minister Smriti Irani, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, etc are also visiting Assam for various poll campaign meetings at Biswanath, Gohpur, Dergaon, Mariani, Sivasagar, Chamaguri, Naharkatia, Duliajan, Dibrugarh etc.
The Indian National Congress is looking for its party chief Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party’s top leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra for the campaigning. The oldest party of Bharat has proposed five guarantees including nullifying the citizenship amendment act (if voted to power) to attract the voters of Assam’s Brahmaputra valley.
While the BJP is allied with AGP, United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), GSP, etc, the Congress has gone for a grand alliance involving All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), CPI(M), CPI, CPI-ML, Anchalik Gana Morcha, etc for the three phase assembly elections on March 27, April 1 and 6.
