Advertisement

Updated April 5th, 2021 at 23:06 IST

Assam Election: As Himanta Sarma seeks re-election, here are 7 key fights of final phase

In the 40 seats going to the polls in the second phase of the Assam election, key leaders of BJP, Congress, and AIUDF are contesting. Here are 7 key contests.

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Assam election
ANI/Twitter/Facebook | Image:self
Advertisement

Touted as a close battle between the incumbent BJP-led alliance and the 'Mahajot', the last phase of the Assam Assembly election shall be conducted on April 6. There are 337 candidates including 25 women in the fray for the 40 constituencies going to the polls on Tuesday. 

In the third phase, allies BJP, AGP, and UPPL are fielding candidates in 20, 12, and 8 seats respectively. While Congress is contesting 23 seats, AIUDF, BPF and CPI(M) are in contention in 12, 8 and one constituencies each with a friendly contest expected in four places. 

The ruling tie-up has made a range of promises including correction of the NRC, implementation of the Bodoland Territorial Region Accord, and laws to end 'Love Jihad' and 'Land Jihad'. On the other hand, Congress has laid emphasis on its five guarantees- non-implementation of the CAA, free electricity, assistance to homemakers, increase in daily wage of tea workers, and generation of 5 lakh jobs. There are over 79 lakh electors in this phase which includes 40,11,539 male, 39,07,963 female and 139 transgender voters. 

Here are the key fights

1. Jalukbari: Himanta Biswa Sarma (BJP) vs Romen Chandra Borthakur (Congress)

With Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the poll fray, Jalukbari is one of the most important constituencies going to the polls. In the last election, Sarma registered a mammoth victory over his Congress opponent Niren Deka by a margin of 85,945. On this occasion, Congress has given a ticket to Romen Chandra Borthakur. As BJP has not declared Sarbananda Sonowal as its CM face, there is speculation that the NEDA convenor might tip him to the top post. Incidentally, his campaign has been plagued by some controversies in the last few days.

For instance, the EC barred him from electioneering for the Assam polls for a period of 48 hours-i.e the last two days of the election campaign. Congress had accused him of threatening BPF president Hagrama Mohilary that the NIA will implicate Mohilary and send him to jail. However, in a controversial decision, the poll body reduced the duration of the campaign ban to 24 hours after receiving a belated apology from Sarma. Meanwhile, his "There is no COVID in Assam... there is no need to wear a face mask now in Assam... If there is a need I will inform the people" comment sparked a lot of criticism too.

2. Chaygaon: Rekibuddin Ahmed (Congress) vs Kamala Kanta Kalita (AGP)

Located in the Kamrup district, this constituency falls under the Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency. Congress has given the ticket to its sitting MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed while AGP has again fielded Kamala Kanta Kalita. Incidentally, Ahmed convincingly beat Kalita, a former MLA, in the previous two Assembly polls. His margin of victory in 2011 and 2016 was 15,693 votes and 7,821 votes respectively.

3. Bongaigaon: Phani Bhusan Choudhury (AGP) vs Shankar Prasad Ray (Congress)

Asom Gana Parishad's Phani Bhusan Choudhury is vying for his 8th consecutive term as an MLA. Representing this seat since 1985, he is currently serving as the Minister of Food & Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Pension & Public Grievances. His key opponent is Congress' Shankar Prasad Ray. Incidentally, Choudhary beat Ray in the 2016 Assembly election by a margin of over 21,000 votes.  

4. Dharampur: Chandra Mohan Patowary (BJP) vs Rahul Patowary (Congress)

A 5-time MLA, Chandra Mohan Patowary is seeking re-election from this seat. The senior leader holds multiple portfolios in the Assam government including Transport, Industry & Commerce, Parliamentary Affairs and Act East Policy Affairs. He is pitted against Rahul Patowary of Congress. While contesting on an AGP ticket in 2011, he suffered a setback after being defeated by Congress' Nilamani Sen Deka. However, he bounced back by winning against Deka in the previous election.

5. Patacharkuchi: Ranjeet Kumar Dass (BJP) vs Pabindra Deka (AJP) vs Shantanu Sarma (Congress)

The destination of the Patacharkuchi Vidyapith, one of the oldest Higher Secondary Schools established in 1935, this seat is located on the banks of the Kaldia river. In a surprising move, BJP has fielded its state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass from here instead of Sorbhog which he won in the previous two elections. He faces stiff competition from Assam Jatiya Parishad working president Pabindra Deka and Shantanu Sarma of Congress. Contesting on an AGP ticket in the 2016 polls, Deka beat Congress' Sailen Kalita by a margin of 51,976 votes. 

6. Gauhati East: Siddhartha Bhattacharya (BJP) vs Ashima Bardoloi (Congress)

Senior BJP leader Siddhartha Bhattacharya is again fighting from this seat. At present, he is the Education Minister in the Sarbananda Sonowal-led Cabinet. In the 2016 Assembly election, Bhattacharya romped to victory by bagging 1,27,602 votes. Ashima Bardoloi of Congress, Mitala Deka Devi of LJP and Adip Kumar Phukan are also in the poll fray.

7. Barama: Bhupen Baro (UPPL) vs Prabeen Baro (BPF) vs Naba Kumar Sarania (Independent)

This is a seat reserved for a Scheduled Tribe candidate. In the last two consecutive polls, Barama has witnessed BPF's Maneswar Brahma defeat AGP's Rekha Rani Dasboro by a comfortable margin. This time, it is a three-cornered fight with the ruling alliance nominating Bhupen Baro of the UPPL, Mahajot reposing their faith in BPF's Prabeen Baro and Independent Lok Sabha MP Naba Kumar Sarania filing his nomination. In the 2019 General Election, Sarania trounced his closest opponent Pramila Rani Brahma of BPF by 37,786 votes. 

Advertisement

Published April 5th, 2021 at 23:06 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Matka Kulfi
a few seconds ago
Ashoka University Students Raise Casteist Slogans
a few seconds ago
OpenAI
7 minutes ago
Naveen Polishetty
9 minutes ago
LCA Tejas IAF
9 minutes ago
Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya
12 minutes ago
Good Friday
25 minutes ago
Bigbasket said it has altered its slotted delivery service to deliver within two hours against the earlier option of same day or next day delivery.
26 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo