Direct, triangular contests in Assam's five LS seats

Assam gears up for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in five constituencies, with 35 candidates vying for victory, including Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The electorate of 86,47,869, comprising 43,64,859 women and 42,82,887 male voters, will cast their votes in 10,001 polling booths under tight security with 60 companies of security forces deployed.

The BJP is contesting in all five seats, the Congress in four and supporting the Assam Jatiya Parishad contestant in one, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in two and the All India Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) in one seat each.

A direct contest is on the cards between the BJP and Congress in Jorhat, Kaziranga and Lakhimpur, while in Dibrugarh and Sonitpur, there is likely to be a triangular fight among the ruling party, Congress, AJP and AAP.

The prestigious Dibrugarh constituency has three candidates in fray: BJP's Sonowal, a Rajya Sabha MP, pitted against the United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA) candidate Lurinjyoti Gogoi of the AJP and AAP's Manoj Dhanowar.

In Jorhat, four candidates are in contention, with Lok Sabha's Deputy Leader of the Opposition Gaurav Gogoi locked in a direct contest with sitting BJP MP Topon Gogoi. Gogoi had to shift his constituency to Jorhat from Kaliabor, which has been renamed Kaziranga following a delimitation exercise in the state last year.

In Kaziranga, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa is locked in a direct contest with former Congress MLA Roselina Tirkey, with both candidates belonging to the tea workers' community. Kaziranga has the highest number of 11 candidates in the fray.

In Sonitpur, also renamed from the earlier Tezpur after delimitation, there are eight nominees, with a triangular contest likely between BJP MLA Ranjit Dutta, Congress candidate Prem Lal Ganju and AAP's Rishiraj Kaundinya.

Lakhimpur has nine contestants, prominent among them being sitting BJP MP Pradan Baruah and Uday Shankar Hazarika of the Congress.

Two LS seats in strife-torn Manipur go to polls

Manipur gears up for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections amid tight security measures, particularly in the wake of recent ethnic violence.

The Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat, which comprises 32 of the 60 assembly segments in the state, and 15 assembly segments of the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha seat will go to polls in the first phase on Friday.

Six candidates, including state Education Minister Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh of the BJP and Angomcha Bimol Akoijam of the Congress, are in the fray for the Inner Manipur seat.

Outer Manipur, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes, will witness a four-cornered contest between Naga People's Front's K Timothy Zimik, Congress' Alfred Kanngam Arthur and independent candidates Kho John and Alyson Abonmai, with all the candidates being Nagas.

A total of 9.91 lakh voters are eligible in Inner Manipur and over 10.22 lakh voters in Outer Manipur.

Special arrangements have been made for people displaced due to ethnic strife, with special polling stations set up.

The campaigning has been subdued due to the prevailing tensions, and security has been heightened with the deployment of central armed police forces, especially in vulnerable and critical polling stations.

Polling personnel have been dispatched to their respective stations, with special provisions for internally displaced people.

The election authorities have ensured gender diversity in the management of polling stations, with some stations being exclusively manned by women. Despite the challenges posed by the recent unrest, efforts are underway to conduct the elections in a free, fair, and peaceful manner.

Tripura and Nagaland

In Tripura, the first phase of Lok Sabha polls will see voting for the Tripura West Parliamentary constituency and a by-poll in the Ramnagar Assembly.

The main contest in Tripura West is between the BJP's Biplab Kumar Deb and state Congress president Asish Kumar Saha.

With 14.61 lakh eligible voters, including 7.33 lakh males and 7.28 lakh females, the constituency has 1682 polling booths. Central paramilitary forces will secure all booths, with webcasting from each.

In the Ramnagar Assembly by-election, BJP's Agartala Mayor Dipak Majumer faces former CPI(M) MLA Ratan Das, with 54,669 electors deciding their fate.

In Nagaland, over 13.25 lakh voters will decide the fate of three candidates.

Congress nominee S Supongmeren Jamir, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) candidate Chumben Murry and Independent Hayithung Tungoe Lotha are contesting the elections. BJP President J P Nadda, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, and Deputy Chief Ministers T R Zeliang and Y Patton addressed several rallies in support of their candidate.

Polling will run from 7 am to 4 pm, with 13,25,383 eligible voters, including 19,999 first-time voters and 6,707 people with disabilities. Female voters slightly outnumber male voters.

In 2019, NDPP's Tokheho Yepthomi won against Congress's K L Chishi.

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