Assam bypolls: Campaigning for five assembly seats ends

Guwahati, Nov 11 (PTI) The campaigning for bypolls in five assembly constituencies of Assam came to an end on Monday evening with Samaguri ang Behali stealing the limelight all along since the notification was issued.

The bypolls will be held in Dholai (SC), Sidli (ST), Bongaigaon, Behali and Samaguri assembly constituencies as these seats fell vacant with the representatives of these seats winning the recent Lok Sabha elections.

A total of 34 candidates are in the fray with most of them being the first timers, the Election Commission data showed.

Although no national leader campaigned in these constituencies, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed a few public meetings in five constituencies, while Union Ports, Shipping & Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal attended one rally in Behali.

The bypolls also cracked the 16-party opposition alliance in Assam over candidate selection for Behali with the Congress deciding to field its candidate at the last moment, disagreeing with the bloc's resolution to give the seat to CPI(ML) Liberation.

Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi was adamant about not giving the seat to the opposition ally and instead camped there during the entire campaign phase to personally push party candidate Jayanta Borah.

The developments related to Behali during the initial days of campaigning stole the limelight. To counter Gogoi's thrust, Sarma addressed two public meetings and held a roadshow, in support of the BJP nominee Diganta Ghatowal.

Apart from Borah and Ghatowal, Lakhikanta Kurmi from CPI(ML) Liberation as a united opposition candidate and Ananta Gogoi from AAP are also in the fray in Behali.

As campaigning progressed, the public focus gradually shifted towards Samaguri, albeit not for positive news.

Incidents of violence have been reported almost daily in Samaguri since the announcement of the bypolls.

Supporters of BJP and Congress were attacked and poll offices have been vandalised across the constituency.

Already, several complaints have been filed by both the BJP and Congress before the Election Commission.

Both political parties made claims and counter-claims of firing at each other's leaders and supporters, while dozens of vehicles on either side have been smashed in the last couple of days.

For the upcoming bypolls in Samaguri, the Congress named Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain's son Tanzil as the party's candidate against Diplu Ranjan Sarma of BJP.

On Saturday, Congress supporters misbehaved with three journalists and manhandled them. Some journalists claimed that their equipment was also damaged in the melee.

Independent candidate Musabbir Ali Ahmed was found in an unconscious state on Saturday night on a road in the Katimari Grant area near his home around midnight. He was critically injured.

The EC transferred two senior police officials from poll duties, while an FIR was registered against the Congress MP Rakibul Hussain.

Hussain, who won the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat this year by a record margin of over 10.12 lakh votes, was an MLA from Samaguri for five consecutive terms before becoming a Parliamentarian.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed the Congress for nominating Tanzil, maintaining that the dynastic politics of the opposition party are preventing talented youths from joining politics.

The Congress also accused the BJP of promoting dynastic politics, right from its national level, while pointing to the nomination of Diptimayee Choudhury from Bongaigaon by the saffron party's ally Asom Gana Parishad.

She is the wife of AGP MP Phani Bhusan Choudhury, who represented Bongaigaon for eight consecutive terms since 1985 before stepping inside parliament for the first time earlier this year.

Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia, countering the chief minister, claimed that there are at least 30 top BJP leaders, including current Union ministers, with direct political lineage.

Choudhury is locked in a direct contest with Brajenjit Singha of Congress, which is aiming to snatch the seat from AGP, taking advantage of the severe dissidence in the regional party following the nomination of the MP's wife.

In Dholai of Barak valley, Congress cast doubts about the citizenship of BJP candidate Nihar Ranjan Das, claiming that a local BJP leader had been the first one to raise the allegation.

CM Sarma during his two meetings there hit out at the Congress for trying to project Das as a 'Bangladeshi' and asserted that questions can also be raised on the nationality of the opposition party's top leader Sonia Gandhi.

Das is likely to face a tough challenge from Congress candidate Dhrubajyoti Purkayastha.

The contest at Sidli in Bodoland Territorial Region has reached an interesting point with Congress putting up a candidate after more than 20 years.

A three-cornered fight is in the offing between Sanjib Warie of Congress, Nirmal Kumar Brahma of United People's Party Liberal and Suddho Kumar Basumatary of Bodoland People's Front.

The overall campaign in Sidli remained low-key and non-controversial with local leaders taking charge.

The last day of campaigning saw all parties taking out roadshows in all the constituencies, where voting will take place on Wednesday. The counting of votes will be done on November 23.

More than nine lakh electors will vote across 1,078 polling stations in five constituencies.TR SBN SBN