GUWAHATI: The stage is set for the 126-seat Assembly elections in Assam on Thursday.
An Opposition front, comprising Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPM, CPI(M-L) and All Party Hill Leaders Conference, will take on the might of the ruling BJP-led NDA, which is seeking a third straight term in power. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodoland People’s Front are the two other NDA entities.
The NDA had an aggressive campaign, wooing voters by promising to drive out the “infiltrators”, sustain the state’s development trajectory, maintain peace and solve the perennial problem of floods.
The Congress’s biggest promise was to ensure justice for musician Zubeen Garg within 100 days of coming to power.
“The results may impact the elections in ethnic violence-hit Manipur next year, and in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya in 2028,” an analyst said. BJP had opened the gateway to the Northeast by winning Assam in 2016, even as the Congress continued to lose its ground in the region.
The BJP fought the 2016 and 2021 elections under Sarbananda Sonowal’s leadership. This marks the first time Himanta Biswa Sarma has led the party into an election. During campaign, Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to people to make Sarma the chief minister again.
The high-voltage campaign was marked by controversies.
Congress leader Pawan Khera had alleged that Sarma’s wife holds passports from three countries, owns luxury properties in Dubai, and has multi-crore investments in the US. She lodged an FIR and the Assam Police are now searching for him. Police claimed to have recovered “incriminating” material after a search at his Delhi residence.
Altogether 722 candidates, including 59 women, are in the fray. The prominent candidates include Sarma, state Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, ministers Pijush Hazarika, Jayanta Malla Baruah (both BJP), leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia (Congress), AIUDF chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, AGP president Atul Bora, AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) chief Pramod Boro.
The constituencies to watch are Guwahati Central, Dispur, Jorhat, Mariani, Sivasagar, and Tamulpur.