75.95 pc of voters in Assam cast their votes in first phase of LS polls

75.95 pc of voters in Assam cast their votes in first phase of LS polls Assam recorded 75.95 per cent voter turnout in the first phase of polls, which was held in five parliamentary constituencies in the state on Friday. According to the Election Commission, 75.95 per cent of voters in five parliamentary constituencies - Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga, Dibrugarh and Jorhat, came out to exercise their franchise in the first phase of the polls. 79.48 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Jorhat parliamentary constituency, while 76.74 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Dibrugarh, 75.79 per cent in Kaziranga, 74.81 per cent in Sonitpur, and 72.65 per cent in Lakhimpur. The second phase of polls for five Lok Sabha seats in Assam - Silchar, Karimganj, Diphu, Nagaon, and Darrang-Udalguri will be held on April 26. Altogether 60 candidates filed their nomination papers for four parliamentary constituencies in the state that are going to polls in the third phase on May 7. In the third phase, voting will be held in Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Barpeta and Guwahati parliamentary constituencies. According to the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, 30 candidates had filed their nomination papers on the last day of submission for the third phase of the polls. On the last day of submission of nomination papers for the third phase of polls, 7 candidates filed their nomination papers in Kokrajhar, 10 in Dhubri, 9 in Barpeta and 4 in Guwahati, said the DIPR, Assam, in a press statement. BJP is contesting 11 out of 14 seats in Assam, while its ally parties, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), are contesting in two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri) and UPPL in one seat (Kokrajhar), respectively. (ANI)

Assam: AIUDF extends support to opposition candidates in key Lok Sabha seats to counter BJP

Assam: AIUDF extends support to opposition candidates in key Lok Sabha seats to counter BJP All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) General Secretary Aminul Islam on Friday said that his party will contest in 3 constituencies and support other candidates in three more, to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. We want to defeat the BJP, so we are directly contesting in 3 constituencies and indirectly participating in three other constituencies by supporting someone else, he told ANI. He said that the AIUDF will support the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) candidate in the Darrang-Udalguri Lok Sabha seat, the TMC candidate in the Silchar seat and the CPI (M) candidate in the Barpeta seat. Aminul Islam, AIUDF General Secretary and MLA, added that his party is contesting two seats in the second and third phase polls. Our party candidates Badruddin Ajmal, Haji Aminul Islam will win from Dhubri and Nagaon Lok Sabha seats and the party candidate will also win in Karimganj seat, which will be held in the last two phases in Assam. The second phase of polls will be held in five parliamentary constituencies - Silchar, Karimganj, Nagaon, Darrang-Udalguri and Diphu seats. Our party has decided to extend our support to the BPF candidate in the Darrang-Udalguri seat, and TMC candidate Radheshyam Biswas in the Silchar seat in the second phase of the polls. Our party will also extend support to CPI (M) candidate Manoranjan Talukdar in the Barpeta seat, said Aminul Islam. He further said that Badruddin Ajmal will win with a record margin of votes from Dhubri's seat. We are monitoring in Guwahati and Kokrajhar seats and the party will later take decision to whom the party will support, Aminul Islam said. The Lok Sabha elections in Assam are being conducted in three phases. The first phase of the election concluded on April 19. In the first phase, 75.95 per cent of voters in the five parliamentary constituencies of Assam - Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga, Dibrugarh and Jorhat, came out to exercise their franchise. The second phase of polls in five Lok Sabha seats in Assam for Silchar, Karimganj, Diphu, Nagaon and Darrang-Udalguri will be held on April 26. Voting for Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Barpeta and Guwahati will be held on May 7 in the third phase of voting. (ANI)

First day, First show and the polling begins

The first round of 7-phase parliamentary polls was held across 21 states, with sporadic incidents of violence being reported from Manipur and West Bengal. In the biggest round of the elections, all 39 seats of Tamil Nadu, 12 of Rajasthan and 8 of Uttar Pradesh went to polls. With PM Modi eyeing a third term in office, the BJP hopes to win 22 of the 25 seats in Northeast, hold on to its 2019 tally in the Hindi heartland and Maharashtra and better its show in West Bengal as well as in the South. The Opposition INDIA bloc insists that it will do well across the country, especially in the saffron bastion of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar this time. The counting of votes will take place on June 4 Rajasthan: Total seats - 25 1st phase - 12 It was subdued enthusiasm among voters in 12 seats. Voting was largely peaceful in most constituencies, though some witnessed sporadic clashes. In Kuchera, Nagaur, one of the hot seats, supporters of BJP candidate Jyoti Mirdha and INDIA Alliance candidate Hanuman Beniwal of RLP clashed with each others, injuring Tejpal Mirdha, the chairman of Kuchera municipality. Nagour is a Jat-dominated seat. In another hot seat of Jhunjhunu in the Shekhawati region, BJP candidate Shubhakaran Chaudhary fought with security personnel and in Churu, an MLA was involved in altercation with a policeman Uttar pradesh: Total seats - 80 1st phase - 8 The overall turnout seemed to be lower than the 2019 elections. The eight constituencies which went to the polls included Saharanpur (63.29%),Pilibhit (60.2%), Kairana (58.68%), Nagina (SC) (58.05%), Moradabad (57.65%), Muzaffarnagar (54.91), Bijnor (54.68%), Rampur (52.42%). No major incident was reported during the polling. Last time, a turnout of 66.47% was recorded in the eight constituencies. Overall turnout in Uttar Pradesh during 2019 was 59.21%. In the Neuria area of the district, villagers said they would not vote as they are peeved at man-animal conflict Bihar: Total seats - 40 4 A low turnout of 48.23% was recorded in four constituencies where 38 candidates were in the fray. In 2019, 53.47% voters had exercised their franchise. Gaya has the highest 14 candidates in the fray. There is a decrease of around 5.24% of turnout in 2024. According to chief electoral officer H R Srinivasa, Gaya (SC) recorded the highest 52% turnout, Jamui (SC) and Aurangabad 50% each. In Nawada, only 41.50% voters exercised their franchise. In 2019, Aurangabad had recorded 53.63% turnout, Gaya 56.16 %, Nawada 49.33% and Jamui 55.21%. Voters called for poll boycott in six stations, there was no report of clashes or violence though, according to Srinivasa. WEST BENGAL: Total seats - 42 1st phase - 3 Sporadic incidents of violence marred the first phase, with TMC and BJP workers clashing in Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. Three reserved seatsJalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Beharin North Bengal went to polls. The TMC and the BJP lodged 80 and 39 complaints, respectively, related to violence, voter intimidation, and assaults on poll agents in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar. Union MoS Nisith Pramanik is contesting from Cooch Behar. TMC leader Udayan Guha said that the BJP, along with central forces, unleashed a reign of terror to rig the elections. The BJP, however, denied the allegations. chhattisgarh: Total seats - 11 1st phase - 1 The voters defied the Maoist threat, as the encouraging turnout eclipsed the terror that haunted Bastar zone ahead of the polling. A CRPF personnel, Devendra kumar, was killed in an IED blast at Usoor in an edgy district of Bijapur during an area domination operation. He died of his injuries while on the way to Raipur in a chopper. In the same district, an assistant commandant of CRPF was injured during a poll-related duty at Bhairamgarh. Barring the two incidents, the polling across Bastar remained peaceful. For the first time, 102 new polling stations were set up for the convenience of voters. Madhya Pradesh: Total seats - 29 1st phase - 6 Six constituencies recorded around 67% turnout till 6.30 pm and the figure is likely to go up. The six seats had registered 75.23% polling in. The high-profile Chhindwara seat (where ex-CM Kamal Naths MP son Nakul Nath took on BJPs Vivek Sahu) stood on top in terms of poll percentage with 78.67% as shared by chief electoral officer Anupam Rajan. Another key constituency Mandla-ST (where sixth-time BJP MP and Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste was pitted against ex-minister and fourth-time Congress MLA Omkar Markam) reported 72.92% polling. The Maoist-hit Balaghat seat reported 72.60% polling Jammu & Kashmir: Total seats - 5 1st phase - 1 For the first-time in over three decades, residents at the International Border in Hira Nagar sector of Kathua district exercised their right to vote for the Udhampur seat without any fear or threat of cross-border firing. It was the first major electoral exercise in J&K since the abrogration of Article 370 and bifurcation of erstwhile J&K state into two Union Territories. People men, women, including young and old thronged at the polling station in Kadyala village close to International Border. India and Pakistan on February 24, 2021, announced to strictly uphold the November 2003 border ceasefire pact between the troops of two countries. Residents said due to the ceasefire, more people have come to vote in this election UTTARAKHAND 5 5 Despite clear weather and relatively low temperature, the turnout was below expectation. Villagers of Jalal in Nainital and Tehri parliamentary constituency boycotted the election for lack of infrastructure, posing risks to their travel and safety. Newlywed couples, dressed in their wedding attire, arrived at several polling stations to cast their votes. However, around 350 were not able to vote on polling day due to wedding ceremonies. Bhagwan Singh, father of the groom from village Chhedi in Srinagar, expressed regret for not being able to vote on polling day due to clash over marriage date Maharashtra: Total seats - 48 1st phase - 5 Voting for the five seats took place without untoward events in Maharashtra. The voting began on a slow pace due to the scorching heat in the Vidarbha region. The tribal and Naxalite district of Gadchiroli witnessed the highest turnout at 64.95%, while Nagpur reported lowest at 47.91% till 5pm. In Ramtek-SC seat, 53.38% turnout was reported, 56.87% in BhandaraGondia and 55.11% in Chandrapur seat. To avoid technical snags cropping up in EVMs in the remote polling booths in Gadchiroli, three spare EVMs were dispatched by a helicopter to the Sironcha area of the district, said an official. Manipur: Total seats - 2 1st phase - 2 Sporadic incidents of gunfire and intimidation of voters as well as Congress workers by armed miscreants marred Lok Sabha elections in ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Friday. The turnout was 72.32% in the Inner Manipur seat and 61.98% in Outer Manipur. The violence occurred in places falling under the Inner Manipur seat which straddles the Meitei-majority Imphal Valley. The armed men fired several rounds outside a polling station at Thamnapokpi in Bishnupur district. Three persons were reportedly injured.The voters and the Congress polling agents were intimidated by the armed miscreants Tamil Nadu: Total seats - 39 1st phase - 39 The polling began at 7am amid tight security in most of the 39 constituencies. Argument broke out between voters and officials in some polling stations as authorities did not allow people to carry their smartphones/mobiles inside the booths. People belonging to Parandhur village with over 1,000 voters near Sriperumbudur did not turn up to vote till 9.30 am. Around 1,000 voters of Ennore who had called for boycott of the election over the ammonia gas leak incident at Ennore Creek withdrew their decision and decided to vote Puducherry: Total seats - 1 1st phase - 1 The Union Territory gets to elect their lone representative to the Lok Sabha. A visit to some of the polling stations in rural areas brought to the fore a mixed picture. Pink booths were the centre of attraction. The green environment at a booth housed on the premises of the more-than-century-old VOC Government Boys school in the town added to the lustre of the arrangements. Gruel, nutritious cereals, millets and buttermilk were given to the voters Lakshadweep: Total seats - 1 1st phase - 1 Nearly 60% voter turnout was recorded until 5pm in the Lakshadweep constituency spanning across 10 inhabited islands of the Lakshadweep Archipelago, with an electorate of 57,784, as per data shared by the Election Commission. Out of this total, 28,506 are women. The polling began at 7.30am across the 10 inhabited islands and concluded at 6.30 pm. An official said that the figures provided are preliminary, as voters who were in line by this deadline were given the opportunity to cast their votes Andaman & Nicobar islands: Total seats - 1 1st phase - 1 Around 3,15,148 voters in Andaman and Nicobar Islands have exercised their franchise till 3pm for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the Union Territory. Seven members of the Shompen tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTGs) of the Great Nicobar Islands, on Friday exercised their voting rights for the first time, an election official said. Other two primitive tribes, too, exercised their voting rights like in 2019, the CEO said Arunachal Pradesh: Total seats - 2 1st phase - 2 The unique Malogam polling station in Anjaw district of the state recorded cent per cent polling with the lone female voter, exercising her constitutional right on Friday, officials said. Supporters of two candidates clashed at the Bameng Assembly constituency in East Kameng. Irate mobs damaged EVMs in polling stations elsewhere in the state. Miscreants tried to snatch EVMs in three polling stations in the Nacho constituency in Upper Subansiri and in one in Kurung Kumey district, where polling was also suspended Assam: Total seats - 14 1st phase - 5 Long queues were seen outside booths since morning as polling was underway for five constituencies. Poling began at 7 am in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur and Kaziranga seats, and 86.5 lakh voters are eligible to vote. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of BJP and Congresss deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi were among those who cast their votes in the first hour Meghalaya: Total seats - 2 1st phase - 2 Voters at numerous polling stations were seen queuing up as early as 6 am, underscoring their enthusiasm to participate in the electoral process. The first five voters were rewarded with mementoes and first-time voters were also felicitated. Voters in a model polling station planted trees after casting their votes. Polling was being held at 3,512 polling stations in which 10 candidates are in the fray Mizoram: Total seats - 1 1st phase - 1 At least 6,500 polling personnel, over 3,500 policemen and 12 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have been deployed for the polls in the state. All international borders and inter-state borders have been sealed to ensure peaceful elections, a senior police officer said. Although there are six contenders, it is believed that the fight will be mainly among ZPM, MNF and Congress Nagaland: Total seats - 1 1st phase - 1 Polling personnel in six eastern districts of Nagaland waited for nine hours in booths, but not one of the four lakh voters of the region turned up following a shutdown call given by an organisation to press for its demand for Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT). Of the 13.25 lakh voters in Nagaland, 50.41 per cent have exercised their franchise, the officials said. Nagaland Governor La. Ganesan exercised his franchise at Model Polling Station Sikkim: Total seats - 1 1st phase - 1 Over 50% of the 4.64 lakh voters in Sikkim exercised their franchise in the 32 Assembly seats and in the lone Lok Sabha constituency till 3 pm on Friday, an official said. Thirteen companies of CAPF have been deployed in Sikkim, of which five companies are from ITBP and eight from SSB, he added. Former Indian Football captain and SDF vice president Bhaichung Bhutia who is contesting from Barfung (BL) assembly seat voted Tripura: Total seats - 2 1st phase - 1 The opposition Congress and CPM alleged that largescale rigging in several places across the constituency, with the Election Commission saying that it received some complaints and was looking into those. In the bypolls to the Ramnagar assembly seat, which was being held simultaneously, a turnout of 56.68% was recorded. Altogether 14.61 lakh people are eligible to vote in this phase of Lok Sabha polls in Tripura

Gaurav Gogoi fondly recalls casting vote along with father for Jorhat seat

HT Correspondent JORHAT, April 19: Indian National Congress (INC) candidate for Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency Gaurav Gogoi, while casting his vote at the DCB Girls High School here, recalled fond memories of coming to to vote there several times with his late father Taru Gogoi and mother Dolly Gogoi. Gogoi, who is the sitting Kaliabor []

Battle of Ahoms in Jorhat as Gaurav & Topon face off

Assam Lok Sabha Elections: 45% turnout till 1 pm

Guwahati: In the first phase of elections in Assam in five Lok Sabha seats, around 45.12 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 p.m. on Friday. Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 47.73 per cent. This was followed by Sonitpur with 45.25 per cent, Lakhimpur (44.33 per cent) Kaziranga (44.32 [] The post Assam Lok Sabha Elections: 45% turnout till 1 pm appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

Long queues outside polling booths in Assam; Sonowal, Gogoi vote early

Guwahati: Long queues were seen outside booths since the morning as polling was underway for five constituencies in Assam in the first phase Friday. Poling began at 7 am in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur and Kaziranga seats, and 86.5 lakh voters are eligible to vote. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of the BJP and Congresss deputy []

BJP adopting unfair means to woo voters in Jorhat: Debabrata Saikia

GUWAHATI, April 18: Leader of opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that the BJP was trying to woo voters of Jorhat constituency by unfair means. Saikia claimed that the saffron party leaders were distributing liquor and offering bribes to voters, and trying to intimidate []

BJP adopting unfair means to woo voters in Jorhat: Assam LoP

LS polls: BJP aims to continue its north-east dominance against challenge of INDIA bloc, regional issues

LS polls: BJP aims to continue its north-east dominance against challenge of INDIA bloc, regional issues As the Bharatiya Janata Party has continued to expand its footprint in the north-east, it will be looking forward to continuing with its dominance, while the INDIA bloc which is aiming to stop the BJP juggernaut from seeking a third consecutive term, will try to inflict as much damage as possible to the ruling party in the region. The eight north-eastern states -- Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh -- will all go to polls in the first phase tomorrow, either fully or in phase. Assam The north-eastern state that sends the maximum number of MPs to the Lok Sabha -- 14, will undergo polls in three phases starting on April 19. Out of 14, five seats will go to polls tomorrow namely: Dibrugrah, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga and Sonitpur. BJP is contesting on 11 out of 14 seats in Assam, while its ally parties, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), are contesting in two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri) and UPPL in one seat (Kokrajhar), respectively. Among the seats going to poll in the first phase Jorhat and Dibrugarh are of most significance because of high-profile contests on the seats. While in Jorhat, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi has decided to challenge BJP MP Topon Kumar Gogoi, the Dibrugarh presents another big clash with former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal taking on INDIA candidate Lurinjyoti Gogoi. Notably, the BJP has expanded its footprint in the state. From winning 5 seats in Assam in 2009, it has risen to 7 in 2014 and 9 in 2019. The party is also in power in the state since 2016. Mizoram Voting to elect the only MP Mizoram sends to the Parliament will take place in the first phase on April 19. Mizo National Front (MNF), which currently holds the seat, has fielded Vanlalvena this time from the only seat the state sends to the Parliament. In 2019, MNF's C Lalrosanga won the seat against the INC's Lalnghinglova Hmar by a margin of 8140 votes. Candidates of several major parties in the poll fray in the state, eyeing the sole LS seat; including Zoram People's Movement (ZPM)'s Richard Vanlalhmangaiha, Bharatiya Janata Party's Lalbiakzama, Mizo National Front's K Vanlalvena and Mizoram People's Conference (MPC), which has fielded Rita Malsawmi. The election comes in wake of issues of border fencing with Myanmar and suspension of Free Movement Regime between New Delhi and Naypyidaw. These issues are expected to play big role as in February, the Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Centre's decision to fence the India-Myanmar border and scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) with the neighbouring country. Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced for immediate suspension of Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India's north-eastern states bordering Myanmar. In this regard, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also announced that the government has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1643-kilometre-long Indo-Myanmar border to facilitate better surveillance and ensure a patrol track along the border. The assembly polls were also conducted recently in the state, in which ZPM-led by Lalduhawma overthrew the MNF rule by registering a massive victory winning 27 out of 40 seats. Tripura The state of Tripura is another crucial front in the north-east, where the BJP will be looking forward to continue its recent momentum. There are two parliamentary seats in Tripura. The West Tripura parliamentary constituency will go to the polls on April 19 and polling for East Tripura is slated on April 26. Notably, BJP won both seats in the 2019 elections. The party is also in power in the state since 2018, when it formed the government under the leadership of Biplab Deb. The party decided to change the Chief Minister in 2022, and Manik Saha took over the post. BJP also won the 2023 assembly elections in the state winning 32 out of 60 seats. This time, BJP has fielded a strong face in former Chief Minister Biplab Deb from West Tripura. He is up against Congress' Asish Kumar Saha, who left BJP in 2022 and was made party's state chief. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said this week that 2024 Lok Sabha elections holds high significance in re-electing Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister for a third term and in making a corruption-free and developed nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently emphasised the importance of north-east region and said that it is an issue of 'priority' for him and not just 'poltiics'. North East plays a major role in making India 'Viksit'. After years of Independence and during the rule of Congress justice was not done with the capabilities of the states in North East. Communists ruled in Tripura and they just destroyed the people of Tripura. But, today in Delhi there is a government that continuously thinks about North East and Tripura. North East 'mere liye politics ka nahi, prem aur prathmikta ka vishay hai, he said during a rally in Agartala.Arunachal Pradesh The state of Arunachal Pradesh also presents a high-profile contest with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in the poll fray. The state has two parliamentary constituencies, Arunachal East and Arunachal West. The Assembly elections will be held concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections for these two seats in Arunachal on April 19. The votes will be counted on June 4. The Minister of Earth Sciences is up against Nabam Tuki from the Indian National Congress (INC). Rijiju, a prominent figure in Arunachal Pradesh politics, has held this seat since 2014. Meanwhile, Nabam Tuki, a veteran leader and former state chief minister, is the candidate representing the Congress. BJP won one seat in 2014 while upped its tally and came out victorious on both seats in 2019. The state is going to polls at a time when neighbouring China has came up with its co-called renaming of 30 places in the state. Beijing's action has received strong condemnation from New Delhi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have repeatedly asserted that irrespective of what China does, Arunchal Pradesh is and will remain an 'integral' part of India. Sikkim Sikkim is another state which will undergo Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls simultaneously on April 19. In 2019, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM)'s Indra Hhang Subba won the lone Lok Sabha seat from the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The SKM also won 17 out of 32 seats in the Assembly polls while the Sikkim Democratic Front won 15 seats. This time, SKM has repeated Subba from the seat. BJP has fielded Dinesh Chandra Nepal while the Congress candidate from the seat is Gopal Chhetri. SDF, on the other hand, has fielded Prem Das Rai. Meghalaya Meghalaya has two Lok Sabha constituencies: Shillong and Tura, both of which will go for polling tomorrow. Key political parties and alliances in Meghalaya include the INDIA bloc represented by the Indian National Congress, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and the Regional Democratic Alliance. The state will witness a multi-cornered contest for its two Lok Sabha seats, with 10 candidates vying for victory. The BJP is not contesting and NDA will be represented by National People's Party (NPP). In 2019, Congress' Vincent Pala and National People's Party candidate Agatha Sangma won the two seats in the state. This time Congress has repeated Pala from Shillong and fielded Saleng Sangma from Tura. NPP has repeated Agatha Sangma from Tura and fielded Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh from Shillong. TMC has also fielded its candidate Zenith M Sangma from the Tura constituency. Nagaland. The state of Nagaland sends only one MP to the Lok Sabha, which will go to polls tomorrow. In 2019, the NDPP-BJP coalition secured a significant victory over the Indian National Congress, emerging as the winner. The seat is currently being held by Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party candidate Tokheho Yepthomi. However, he has not been repeated from the seat. NDPP has fielded Chumben Murry as the NDA candidate from the seat. The Congress party has fielded Supongmeren Jamir from the seat. Earlier, BJP exuded confidence that their alliance would register a huge victory from the lone seat. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had visited Kohima as part of his Bharat Jodo Naya Yatra in January this year. Manipur The north-eastern state, which has been grappling with ethnic violence for close to a year, will also participate in the country's festival of democracy, but in a special manner. Manipur will poll in two phases, with Inner Manipur voting on April 19 and Outer Manipur in both phases, on April 19 and 26. While there is no official word on the rationale behind holding the polls in Outer Manipur in both the phases, it is believed that the decision was taken after assessing security concerns in the violence-hit state. A total of 15 assembly segments will see polling for the Lok Sabha on April 19, while another 13 assembly segments will poll on April 26. Significantly, the district of Churachandpur, which was epicentre of the ethnic violence that erupted last year, leaving many dead while displacing still more in the face of rampant violence and arsoning, will also go to polls in the opening phase on April 19. Currently, the two constituencies are held by Minister of State Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (Inner Manipur) and Naga People Front's Lorho Phoze (Outer Manipur). This time, however, the NPF is going into the polls as a partner in the BJP-led NDA. The BJP, earlier, announced its support for NPF candidate for Outer Manipur, Kachui Timothy Zimik. Zimik is up against Congress MLA Alfred K Arthur, who is the joint Opposition candidate of the INDIA bloc. BJP has fielded Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh from Inner Manipur and decided against repeating its MoS Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. He is up against Congress' Angomcha Bimol Akoijam. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections to elect the 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The results will be announced on June 4. The Bharatiya Janata party will aim to hold and expand its dominance in the north-east while seeking a third consecutive term at the Centre. In its election manifesto, the party has said that it will continue its effective efforts to establish peace in the North-East and phase out the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. We will continue our efforts to address the issues in the disturbed areas and remove AFSPA in a phased manner. We will further work towards the resolution of inter-state border disputes amongst Northeastern states through sustained efforts, the party said in its manifesto. Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc, mainly led by Congress, will be looking to inflict some damage to NDA in these states riding on regional issues especially the situation in Manipur. (ANI)

Elections 2024: 21 states, UTs set for polling in phase one; 102 LS seats in fray

The first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will see 102 constituencies across 21 states and union territories go to polls on Friday. The first phase of polling will take place across all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, all five seats in Uttarakhand, both seats in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Meghalaya, and the sole seat in Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, respectively. Polling will also take place for 12 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan, eight out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, six out of 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, five out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, five out of 14 seats in Assam, and four out of 40 seats in Bihar. Additionally, three out of 42 seats in West Bengal, one out of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh, and one out of two seats in Tripura will be contested. In the union territories, one out of five seats in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the sole seats in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry, will be up for grabs. Voting for the 543 Lok Sabha seats will take place across seven phases from April 19 to June 1, with the counting of votes slated for June 4. Separately, voting will also be held for 92 assembly seats in the state elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim on Friday. Of the 102 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP had won 39 in 2019, with the ruling alliance NDA bagging 12, five and three of them in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, respectively. The BJP's existing allies hold seven of them. And in Tamil Nadu, the DMK-led alliance had swept 38 of the 39 seats in 2019 general elections. Amongst the prominent leaders trying their electoral luck in phase one are Union ministers Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur, Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh (West), Arjun Ram Meghwal from Bikaner, Sarbanada Sonowal from Dibrugarh in Assam, Sanjeev Baliyan from Muzaffarnagar in western UP, Jitendra Singh from Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir and Bhupendra Yadav from Alwar in Rajasthan. Tamilisai Soundararajan, who recently resigned as governor of Telangana and Lt Governor of Puducherry to return to active politics, is contesting from Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency. Nakul Nath, son of Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, is seeking reelection from Chhindwara. Will the BJP's lotus bloom in Tamil Nadu? Tamil Nadu is gearing up for polls a mid fierce campaigning and an intense three-way political battle between the alliances led by state heavyweightsthe DMK and the AIADMKand the BJP, respectively. With elections for 39 Lok Sabha seats looming, approximately 6.23 crore voters are poised to cast their ballots across nearly 68,000 polling stations. The BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has made unprecedented efforts to gain ground in the Dravidian stronghold. Modi's exhaustive campaign across Tamil Nadu, including rallies in Chennai, Coimbatore, Vellore, and Tirunelveli, underscores the BJP's determination to break its electoral jinx in the state. From raking up alleged corruption and 'parivarvad' politics of the DMK-Congress alliance to the Katchatheevu issue, Modi left no stone unturned in his nine visit to the state Coimbatore, the hub of western Tamil Nadu, is the most keenly watched constituency in the state and the BJP's K Annamalai is slogging to emerge victorious, battling against Dravidian giants the DMK and AIADMK. Meanwhile, the DMK, led by Chief Minister Stalin, has campaigned on platforms of social justice and welfare measures, portraying the elections as a battle against the BJP's divisive politics. Throughout the campaign, Stalin has repeatedly emphasised the importance of these elections, likening them to a second independence movement aimed at freeing the nation from the BJP's influence. In contrast, the AIADMK, under the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami, has staunchly defended its record in governance and taken a strong stance against the DMK's campaign. Palaniswami has vigorously addressed various issues, including law and order, and has accused the BJP of discrimination based on caste and religion. Despite facing challenges from both the DMK and BJP, the AIADMK remains confident in its ability to weather the storm, with Palaniswami asserting that the party will emerge victorious with the support of the electorate. UP: Eight seats up for grabs in India's largest state The first phase of the seven-phase parliamentary election in western Uttar Pradesh sees voters in eight Lok Sabha constituencies exercising their constitutional right. These constituencies, falling in the Jat and sugarcane belt, include Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur, and Pilibhit, spread across nine districts. The contest is three-cornered, primarily between the ruling BJP-led NDA, the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The BJP has allied with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), while the SP has partnered with INDIA bloc ally Congress. The BSP, however, decided to go solo. Key issues for voters include employment, education, and development. A total of 80 candidates, including seven women, are in the fray. The eligible voter count stands at 1.43 crore, with a significant Muslim voter presence ranging from 35 to 50 percent. Notable candidates include Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, who got the ticket over sitting BJP MP Varun Gandhi , Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar, and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad from Nagina. In the previous 2019 polls, the BJP secured victories in Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, and Pilibhit, the BSP won in Saharanpur, Nagina and Bijnor, while the SP won in Moradabad and Rampur, the stronghold of its jailed leader Azam Khan. However, the party later lost Rampur to BJP in a bypoll. Cracking the Jat code: BJP's strategic courting of RLD and what it means in western Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra: Polls in 5 LS seats; Gadkari among 97 nominees in fray More than 95 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise on Friday in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra , covering five of the 48 constituencies, where 97 candidates, including Union Minister Nitin Gadkari of the BJP, are in fray. Polling will be held in the constituencies of Nagpur, Ramtek (SC), Bhandara-Gondia, Chandrapur and Naxal-hit Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST), all located in the easternmost parts of the state. There are 95,54,667 voters in the five Lok Sabha constituencies in the Vidarbha region where voting will take place on Friday. Of these, 48,28,142 are male, 47,26,178 are female and 347 are transgender voters, according to a statement from the state electoral office. In Nagpur, which houses the RSS headquarters, a direct fight is on cards between Gadkari, who is seeking a third term, and Congress candidate Vikas Thakre. First phase of LS polls in Maharashtra: It's Congress party's 'caste calculations' vs BJP's 'Modi charisma' In Chandrapur, BJP candidate and Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is facing Congress nominee Pratibha Dhanorkar, wife of late parliamentarian Suresh Dhanorkar, who was the lone MP from the grand old party to be elected from Maharashtra in 2019 from the seat. In Bhandara-Gondia, the BJP has fielded sitting MP Sunil Mendhe, who is pitted against Congress candidate Dr Prashant Patole. Two-time Lok Sabha MP of BJP, Ashok Nete, is contesting against Congress nominee Dr Namdev Kirsan in Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST), where some areas are affected Naxal insurgency. In the 2019 elections, Nete had defeated Congress candidate Dr Namdev Usendi. In Ramtek (SC), the fight is between Shyamkumar Barwe of the Congress and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's candidate Raju Parwe. Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh, will vote in five phases between April 19 and May 20. Rajasthan: 12 seats in fray; will BJP's dominance continue? In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, 12 out of 25 seats will be contested. Polling will be held in Churu, Nagaurm, Ganganagar, Jhunjhunu, Bikaner, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Dausa. According to chief electoral officer Praveen Gupta, a total of 2.54 crore voters are set to vote in the first phase on Friday. Notably, a Union minister is among the 114 candidates in the fray. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is contesting from Bikaner against Congress candidate Govind Ram Meghwal. The Bharatiya Janata Party won all 25 seats in Rajasthan on its own in 2014, and in 2019, the NDA won 25 seats, the saffron party won 24 seats and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) won one seat. Key constituencies include Nagaur, witnessing a contest between the RLP, now in alliance with Congress, and the BJP, and Churu, with former BJP MP Rahul Kaswan contesting as a Congress candidate. In Sikar, the CPI(M) is challenging the BJP's incumbent MP. The ruling BJP focused its campaign on PM Modi's popularity and its infrastructure work, while the Congress raised issues of central agency misuse and unemployment. Notable campaigners include PM Modi, Amit Shah, and Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. The second phase of the elections in Rajasthan will be held on April 26. In the second phase, polls will be held in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies: Tonk, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota and Jhalawar. MP: Six LS seats in action, including Kamal Nath's bastion Six constituents will be in action during the first phase of the four phases for the Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh. The constituencies include Shahdol, Mandla, Jabalpur, Balaghat, Chhindwara, and Sidhi, covering 13 districts and 27 assembly segments. A total of 88 candidates are in the fray, with Jabalpur having the highest number at 19 and Shahdol the lowest at 10. The total number of registered voters across the six constituencies is 1,13,09,636, with arrangements made for shelter, water, and medical assistance at polling booths due to the hot weather. In the 2019 elections, the BJP secured 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats, while the Congress won only one seat in Chhindwara, held by Nakul Nath, the son of former Chief Minister Kamal Nath. The second, third and fourth phases of the elections will take place on April 26, May 7 and May 13. Kamal Nath fighting lone battle to help son win Chhindwara and protect home turf Over 75 lakh voters to decide four seats in Bihar In Bihar, the stage is set for the first phase more than 75 lakh voters will decide the fate of 38 candidates standing in four constituencies: Nawada, Aurangabad, Gaya and Jamui. Tight security arrangements are in place at Nawada and Aurangabad, besides reserved seats in Gaya and Jamui, where a majority of nearly 5,000 polling booths have been marked as sensitive, given these districts' long history of naxal violence. Nawada, with 20.06 lakh voters, sees a tough battle primarily between the BJP's Vivek Thakur and the RJD's Shravan Kushwaha, with Independent candidate Binod Yadav adding complexity. Gaya, with 18.18 lakh voters, witnesses 14 candidates, including former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, an NDA ally, and RJD's Kumar Sarvajeet. Jamui, with 19.07 lakh voters, features a showdown between Arun Bharti from Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas) and RJD's Archana Ravidas. The party's president Chirag Paswan, whose sister is married to Bharti, has shifted base to Hajipur after having represented the seat for two consecutive terms. Aurangabad, with over 18 lakh voters, sees BJP's Sushil Kumar Singh facing RJD's Abhay Kushwaha. 76.01 lakh voters, including 36.38 lakh females and 255 belonging to the third gender, are expected to cast their votes. Uttarakhand: Can BJP 'three-peat' clean sweep? Uttarakhand's all five Lok Sabha seats go into polling in phase one, with the BJP aiming to retain the seats for the third time and the Congress looking to regain lost ground in the state. The five seats going to polls on Friday are Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar and the lone reserved seat of Almora. The BJP won all five seats in Uttarakhand in the 2014 and 2019 general elections. More than 83 lakh voters will decide the fate of 55 candidates in the fray. Sitting BJP MPs Ajay Bhatt, Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah and Ajay Tamta have been fielded by the party from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar, Tehri Garhwal and Almora, respectively. The BJP has replaced its candidates in Haridwar and Pauri Garhwal. Former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is contesting in place of Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank from Haridwar and Anil Baluni in place of Tirath Singh Rawat from Pauri Garhwal. The Congress has fielded former PCC president Ganesh Godiyal from Pauri Garhwal, former chief minister Harish Rawat's son Virendra Rawat from Haridwar, Jot Singh Gunsola from Tehri Garhwal, Prakash Joshi from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar and Pradeep Tamta from Almora. Candidates from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal and relatively smaller outfits and independents are also in the fray, but straight contests are likely between traditional rivalsthe BJP and Congressin all the seats. Experts say that Haridwar's demography, which has substantial minority and Dalit votes, may also not be a cakewalk for the BJP's Trivendra Rawat, despite his advantage over his rival in terms of experience, as Congress veteran Harish Rawat, who had won the seat in 2009, is leaving no stone unturned to ensure his son's victory from the seat. If the Modi factor works again as it did in 2014 and 2019, overriding all other factors, the BJP will obviously reap the benefits but if unemployment, inflation, continued migration from the hills and performance of BJP MPs over the past 10 years outweigh the national issues, the Congress will gain, political analyst Jaisingh Rawat said. Bengal: Triangular tussle between TMC, BJP and Cong-Left In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, all attention is on Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduars constituencies in north Bengal. A total of 56,26,108 voters are eligible to vote in 5,814 booths in this phase. Coochbehar, where Union Minister Nisith Pramanik faces TMC's Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, remains significant due to past violence and political rivalries. The deployment of central forces is higher in Coochbehar compared to the other two constituencies. Both BJP and TMC have intensified their campaigns, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee addressing rallies. Key issues include corruption allegations against ruling party leaders, denial of central funds, and the 2021 Sitalkuchi firing incident. The BJP won all three constituencies in the 2019 general elections and maintained its grip in Coochbehar and Alipurduars in the 2021 assembly polls. But, the TMC had the upper hand in Jalpaiguri in the 2021 assembly polls, winning five and the saffron party managed to win two. The Left Front and Congress are contesting together, having secured only single-digit vote shares in 2019. The BJP has renominated Jayanta Roy in Jalpaiguri and Pramanik in Cooch Behar, but replaced last time's winner John Barla with the party's Madarihat MLA Manoj Tigga in Alipurduars. The TMC has, however, changed candidates in all three seats, fielding Prakash Chik Baraik in Alipurduars, Nirmal Chandra Roy in Jalpaiguri and Sitai MLA Basunia in Coochbehar. 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. J-K: Udhampur LC seat in action amid ceasefire The Udhampur seat in Jammu and Kashmir will go to polls on Friday in the first phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections. In view of the ongoing ceasefire between India and Pakistan and the heavy deployment of paramilitary forces, the voting process is expected to be peaceful in 2,637 polling stations in the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, a senior election official said. Union Minister Jitendra Singh is eyeing a third consecutive term in the constituency after winning the seat for BJP in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, facing a major challenge from Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh, who had also won the seat twice in 2004 and 2009. Democratic Progressive Azad Party's (DPAP) candidate G M Saroori, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Amit Kumar and six independents will also be contesting the elections from the Udhampur constituency. According to officials, there are 16,23,195 eligible voters. Among them, 845,283 are men, 777,899 are women and 13 are third-gender voters. There are a total of 84,468 potential first-time voters, aged 1819, of whom 45,825 are men, 38,641 are women and two are third genders, the officials said. Lone Puducherry segment all set for three-way fight The fate of the 26 candidates in fray for the Lok Sabha polls will be sealed on Friday when voters spread across four regions will pick the lone MP from this union territory, where the fight is largely confined between the ruling BJP and Congress. BJP leader and Home Minister A Namassivayam, fielded on behalf of the AINRC-BJP combine, will face off Congress MP and PCC president V Vaithilingam, while AIADMK's G Tamizhvendhan is also testing his luck as a debutant. The Union Territory has a total of 10,23,699 voters spread over Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions. Andaman's lone seat in action The lone seat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands will see 3.15 lakh voters get an opportunity to exercise their franchise. A total of 12 candidates, including two women and five independents, are in the fray for the polls. Of the 3.15 lakh voters, 1.64 lakh are men and 1.51 lakh are women, while there are four third-gender voters. The electorate also includes 39 voters from the Great Nicobarese tribe of the Strait Islands, 68 members of the Onge tribe at Hut Bay and 98 members of the Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar Island. Special polling stations have been established for them. This time, the saffron party has nominated Bishnu Pada Ray as its candidate, while the Congress has fielded its sitting MP, Kuldeep Rai Sharma. Ray was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1999, when he defeated Congress candidate Sharma by 2,990 votes. He was re-elected in 2009 and again in 2014. In the 2019 elections, however, Sharma secured a victory against BJP's Vishal Jolly (Ray was denied a ticket) by a narrow margin of 1,407 votes.

Gogoi vs Gogoi in Jorhat: Can Gaurav win the Congress back its bastion?

Gogoi vs Gogoi in Jorhat Can Gaurav win the Congress back its bastion

Assam opposition leader accuses BJP of unfair tactics in Jorhat Lok Sabha seat

GUWAHATI: Debabrata Saikia, the leader of opposition in the Assam assembly, filed a formal complaint with the election commission of India (ECI) on Thursday (April 18), alleging that the BJP was resorting to unfair tactics to sway voters in the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency. Saikia accused BJP leaders of engaging in the distribution of liquor, [] The post Assam opposition leader accuses BJP of unfair tactics in Jorhat Lok Sabha seat appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

It's advantage NDA as 15 of Northeasts 25 seats go to polls in first phase

GUWAHATI: It will be advantage BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) when the Northeast goes to Lok Sabha elections on Friday. The region has 25 seats and 15 of them are going to polls in the first phase five in Assam, all two in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya, one of two seats in Tripura and the lone seats in Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim. The BJP rules Assam, Arunachal, Tripura and Manipur and is a component of the ruling coalitions in Nagaland and Meghalaya. Assam has 14 seats and the five going to polls are Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur and Kaziranga. A straight contest is expected between the BJP and the Congress in Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga and Sonitpur. The Dibrugarh seat is poised to witness a battle between the BJP and the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which is a Congress ally. All eyes will be particularly on the Jorhat and Dibrugarh seats. The Congress Gaurav Gogoi is up against sitting MP Topon Kumar Gogoi of the BJP in the Jorhat seat. Nehru said bye bye to Assam during China war, people can never forget: Amit Shah Sensing undercurrents of a wavering electorate and Gauravs popularity as a youth icon, the BJP had considerably reinforced its campaign. Not only Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed a series of rallies, the BJP stationed a minister and some MLAs here as it had stepped up its campaign. It will be a battle between experience and exuberance in the Dibrugarh seat where Union minister and BJP stalwart Sarbananda Sonowal is facing a challenge from the AJPs Lurinjyoti Gogoi. Gogoi is among the leaders who had spearheaded the movement against Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The polls in Manipur will be held in the backdrop of the bloody ethnic violence between the Meiteis and the Kukis. The Inner Manipur seat will go to polls in one phase and the Outer Manipur seat in two phases. It will be the BJP versus the Congress in the Inner Manipur seat. The BJP fielded Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh, a minister and former IPS officer; while the Congress set up Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, who is a professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. The Outer Manipur seat braces for a triangular contest among the Naga Peoples Fronts (NPF) Kachui Timothy Zimik, the Congress Alfred KS Arthur and an independent, S Kho John. No Kuki is contesting the polls in the state. The contest in the two seats in Arunachal will also be a Congress-BJP affair. Union minister Kiren Rijiju of the BJP is up against former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki of the Congress in the Arunachal West seat. Sitting MP and BJP leader Tapir Gao will vie against former minister Bosiram Siram of the Congress in the Arunachal East seat. A deadly trek for sake of democracy in Arunachal The National Peoples Party (NPP), which heads the coalition government in Meghalaya, has an edge over others in both Shillong and Tura seats. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangmas sister and sitting MP Agatha is contesting from the Sangma familys pet Tura seat. A multi-cornered contest in expected in the Shillong seat, which is currently held by the Congress Vincent H Pala. The BJP is facing a contest from the Congress in the Tripura West seat where it fielded former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. He is up against state Congress president Asish Kumar Saha. Nagaland will witness a straight contest between the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Congress. The contest in Mizoram will be between the Mizo National Front (MNF) and the ruling Zoram Peoples Movement. The ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and the Sikkim Democratic Front will lock horns with each other in Sikkim. The BJP is contesting the polls as NDA. The NPP, NPF, NDPP, MNF and SKM are its allies. The allies across the region are known to fight each other. This election, the BJP struck an understanding with allies in all states barring Sikkim and Mizoram. Meanwhile, Arunachal and Sikkim are also having Assembly elections. The BJP is expected to retain power in Arunachal. The SKM has an edge over other parties in Sikkim.

Assam: Direct, triangular contests to decide fate of 35 candidates in 5 LS constituencies

Assam: Direct, triangular contests to decide fate of 35 candidates in 5 LS constituencies Assam is all set to witness direct and triangular contests for the first of the three-phased Lok Sabha polls in five constituencies to decide the fate of 35 candidates, including that of Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Polling will begin at 7 am and conclude at 5 pm in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kaziranga, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur. A total electorate of 86,47,869, comprising 43,64,859 women who outnumber the 42,82,887 male voters, and 123 third genders, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 10,001 polling booths. Voting will be held amid tight security with 60 companies of security forces deployed across the five constituencies. The BJP is contesting in all the 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 with Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, a Rajya Sabha MP, pitted against the United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA) candidate Lurinjyoti Gogoi of the AJP and Aam Aadmi Party'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 as 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. Assam Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel said all arrangements have been made for conducting the polls in a free, fair, safe and peaceful manner. Live monitoring and webcasting will be available in all the 5,509 polling stations, as per the ECs direction, he said. Out of the 10,001 polling booths in the first phase, 92 are model polling stations, 11 are People with Disability (PwD)-managed ones and 752 are female-managed booths. A total of 40,004 polling and presiding officers will be engaged, and Ballot Units (BUs), Control Unit (CUs) and VVPATs will be put to use. Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) like provision for drinking water, adequate furniture, waiting shed, toilet, lighting, creche for children, signage and ramps will be available at all the polling stations, officials said. Besides, arrangements like transport facility for the elderly, assistance from volunteers and provision for wheelchairs have made at the booths.

Congress's do-or-die battle for Gaurav in Jorhat

Congresss doordie battle for Gaurav in Jorhat

Over 1800 polling stations ready for Lok Sabha elections in Assam's Sonitpur

The first phase of polls in five parliamentary constituencies--Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, and Kaziranga--will be held on April 19.

Campaign ends for first phase of LS polls in Assam

Campaign ends for first phase of LS polls in Assam Guwahati: The campaigning for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Assam concluded on Wednesday. Voting will take place in five constituencies of the state on April 19. A total of 35 candidates are contesting for five seats Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kaziranga, Sonitpur, and [] The post Campaign ends for first phase of LS polls in Assam appeared first on Mangalorean.com .

Kaziranga: Gogoi family stronghold to witness face-off between BJP's Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and Congress' Roselina Tirkey

Kaziranga: Gogoi family stronghold to witness face-off between BJP's Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and Congress' Roselina Tirkey The newly created Kaziranga Lok Sabha seat in Assam, formerly known as Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency will go to the polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19. The Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency was struck down during the delimitation process by the Election Commission in August 2023 and was replaced by Kaziranga. Kaziranga is one of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam state in north-eastern India which covers Kaliabor, Barhampur, Binnakandi, Hojai, Lumding, Golaghat, Dergaon, Khumtai, Bokakhat, and Sarupathar. The BJP has fielded Kamakhya Prasad Tasa from Kaziranga, whereas the Congress nominated Roselina Tirkey which once used to be the home constituency of the Gogois the longest serving chief minister Tarun Gogoi, his brother Dip Gogai and son Gaurav Gogai. Asom Jana Morcha has fielded Salim Ahmed and Voters party international has fielded Anima Deka Gupta. This year Congress party has fielded its party MP, Gaurav Gogoi, from the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency in Assam. In the 2019 elections from Kaliabor, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi won the elections from 786,092 with 55.2 per cent. Moni Madhab Mahanta of the Asom Gana Parisad garnered 576,098 votes. Kaziranga is central to wildlife preservation. It is home to one of the most significant National Parks in the country. There are a total of 14 parliamentary constituencies in Assam. Elections for the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam will take place in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7. Meanwhile, the election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in the general election. The counting of votes will take place on June 4. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 7 of the 14 seats in Assam. Both the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) claimed three seats each. During the 2019 elections, the BJP increased its seat count to 9, while the Congress maintained its three seats, and the AIUDF won a single seat. (ANI)

PM's focus only on oppn, religion & caste: Priyanka

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticizes PM Modi for ignoring unemployment, focusing on opposition, religion, caste. Urges voters from six OBC communities in Jorhat to vote against BJP. Promises 50% reservation for women in govt jobs, highlights concerns over Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Congress will raise tea workers wages in Assam: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said daily wages of tea garden workers will be increased if the opposition alliance wins the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing the public while taking part in a roadshow in Jorhat district of Assam in support of Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi, Priyanka Gandhi said, When I came to Assam and ... Read more The post Congress will raise tea workers wages in Assam: Priyanka Gandhi first appeared on Daily Kiran .

Watching rhinos more beneficial: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Priyanka Gandhi's roadshow

Low turnout at Priyanka Gandhi's roadshow in Jorhat criticized by CM Sarma. He advised visiting Kaziranga for benefits. Gandhi family mocked for Amul ads. Vadra pledged tea workers' wage hike. Sarma questioned Gogoi's work in Kaliabor and Jorhat.

First phase of LS polls sees prominent figures vying for seats

First phase of LS polls sees prominent figures vying for seats Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls. Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is seeking a hat-trick of win from the Nagpur seat. In 2014, he had defeated seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar by a margin of 2.84 lakh votes and retained the seat in 2019 by defeating current Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole by 2.16 lakh votes. Union minister Kiren Rijiju is contesting from the Arunachal West seat. The 52-year-old has represented the constituency thrice since 2004. Rijiju's main rival is former chief minister and present president of Arunachal Pradesh Congress Nabam Tuki. Sarbanada Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, is seeking a return to Lok Sabha from Dibrugarh in Assam. Sonowal, a Rajya Sabha member, was fielded from Dibrugarh after Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli, was not given a ticket. Muzaffarnagar, known for its intricate caste dynamics, is witnessing a three-cornered electoral battle, with Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan locked in competition against Samajwadi Party's Harindra Malik and BSP candidate Dara Singh Prajapati. Jitendra Singh, a two-time parliamentarian and a junior minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, is aiming for a hat-trick in Udhampur. Bhupendra Yadav, Union minister and Rajya Sabha member who replaced sitting MP Balak Nath, is in a contest with sitting Congress MLA Lalit Yadav, who belongs to Matsya region of Alwar district in Rajasthan and enjoys the support of the Yadav community. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is pitted against former Congress minister Govind Ram Meghwl from Bikaner parliamentary seat in Rajasthan. The Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu is witnessing one of the keenly watched battles between A Raja, the incumbent DMK MP, and former telecom minister, and L Murugan of the BJP, who is the Union Minister of State for Fisheries. This will be the first time that Murugan, who was elected to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh, is contesting from here. Sivaganga MP Karti Chidmabaram is aiming for a re-election from a seat his father won seven times, competing against BJP's T Devanathan Yadav and AIADMK's Xavier Dass. Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai is set to take the ballot test in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore where she is pitted against DMK leader Ganapathy P Rajkumar and AIADMK's Singai Ramachandran. Tamilisai Soundararajan, who recently resigned as governor of Telangana and Lt Governor of Puducherry to return to active politics, is contesting from Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency. Daughter of veteran Congress leader Kumari Anantha, Soundararajan had contested 2019 Lok Sabha elections against DMK's Kanimozhi, but lost by a huge margin in Thoothukudi. This time, Kanimozhi is seeking a re-election from the seat. NDA ally Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) has fielded SDR Vijayaseelan and AIADMK has fielded R Sivasami Velumani from the constituency. Nakul Nath, son of Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, is seeking a re-election Chhindwara. The seat has remained firmly with Kamal Nath, who has won the seat nine times since 1980. In the 2019 polls, the BJP bagged 28 seats out of the state's 29, but missed out on picking Chhindwara, where Nakul beat the BJP's candidate by 37,536 votes to emerge as the lone Congress MP in the state. Of the two Lok Sabha constituencies in Tripura, the seat of West Tripura that votes in the first phase on April 19 will see a high-voltage clash between former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and state Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha. Having won Lok Sabha elections twice since 2014 from Kaliabor constituency in Assam, Gaurav Gogoi, Congress' deputy leader in Lok Sabha and son of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, finds himself as the new candidate in neighbouring Jorhat, where BJP's Topon Kumar Gogoi won in 2019. Gaurav Gogoi's shift to Jorhat came after the impact of delimitation exercise in his 2019 constituency, Kaliabor. Manipur Law and Education Minister Basanta Kumar Singh is BJP's nominee for the Inner Manipur constituency and is pitted against JNU professor and Congress candidate Bimal Akoijam. Singh, who belongs to the Meiti community, is the son of Thounaojam Chaoba Singh who served as the Union Minister of State for sports, youth affairs, culture and food processing in the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The BJP stronghold of Churu, in northern Rajasthan, is readying for an interesting match between BJP candidate Devendra Jhajharia, a two-time Paralympic gold medallist javelin thrower, and Rahul Kaswan from the Congress. Kaswan is a turncoat who has made the fight for Churu interesting. The two-time left the BJP only in March after he was denied a ticket by the party. Polling for the 543 seats for electing the 18th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases. The votes will be counted on June 4.

Fifteen 'crorepati' candidates in fray for 5 Lok Sabha seats in Assam

Among the 35 candidates contesting for the five Lok Sabha seats in Assam scheduled for polling on April 19, fifteen are millionaires, with the wealthiest being independent female candidate Diluwara Begum Chowdhury from the Kaziranga constituency. The five constituencies going to the polls on April 19 include Jorhat, Kaziranga, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, and Lakhimpur.

Priyanka Gandhi's Massive Roadshow In Assam For Gaurav Gogoi, Accuses BJP Of Changing The Constitution

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vandra who on Tuesday led a massive roadshow at Titabor in Jorhat district of Assam said that people of India want a change. Asking people to vote for Gaurav Gogoi, Ms Gandhi said that he is a politician who cares for their people. I am here because I know Gaurav Gogoi who will be your voice in the parliament, said Ms Gandhi while assuring that daily wages of tea garden workers will be hiked if the opposition alliance wins the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a large crowd who came out despite inclement weather condition, Ms Gandhi said that the ruling party wants to change the Constitution and if that happens, the common people of the country will suffer the most. Recalling her visit to the state during the assembly polls she said, When I came to Assam and visited tea gardens before assembly polls 2-3 years ago, I had promised to raise the wages if Congress formed the government. But you chose BJP and the wages were not raised from around Rs 250. She said, I am again telling you that our manifesto has guaranteed to increase the wages of tea garden workers if we form the government at the Centre. Asserting that Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi is a man of principal and continue to be their voice like his father late chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Ms Gandhi said, When BJP leaders come to campaign, they talk about irrelevant issues. However, Gaurav Gogoi has always raised people's issues. Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said that unemployment is at an all-time high, but the PM mentioned it only twice in a recent interview, which was all about his 'Man Ki Baat'. If you want to control price rise, then vote for Congress. Please don't vote on religion and caste issues. It's time to teach a lesson to ruling BJP, she said. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary landed at Jorhat airport this morning and straightaway reached Titabor, the assembly seat of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi and a part of Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency. Ms Gandhi accompanied by Gaurav Gogoi, state Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, AICC general secretary and in-charge for Assam Jitendra Singh, Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia and other senior leaders started her roadshow from Titabor Chariali. After the event, Ms Gandhi left for Tripura to lead another roadshow in Tripura West constituency.

Ahead of poll rallies, PM holds roadshow in Guwahati

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took part in a roadshow for Congress in central Assams Jorhat district

Who Wants To Look At Amul Babies? Himanta Sarma's Jibe At Gandhis

Hours after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led a roadshow in Assam's Jorhat, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that an insignificant number of people attended it and that watching rhinos at the Kaziranga would be more beneficial.

Gandhis are Amul Babies: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma targets Priyanka Gandhi

Guwahati: AssamChief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called the Gandhi family Amul babies while targetting Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi. The Assam CM told the media that there was no crowd at the rally carried out by Priyanka Gandhi in Jorhat, Assam. He claimed that there were hardly 2000-3000 people at the rally. Who would go to [] The post Gandhis are Amul Babies: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma targets Priyanka Gandhi appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

Himanta says watching rhinos is more beneficial than attending Priyanka's roadshow

Himanta says watching rhinos is more beneficial than attending Priyanka's roadshow Hours after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led a roadshow in Assam's Jorhat, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that an ''insignificant'' number of people attended it and watching rhinos at the Kaziranga National Park would be ''more beneficial''. He also said that members of the Gandhi family are fit for advertising campaigns. ''I heard around 2,000-3,000 people gathered (in Vadra's roadshow). It was not significant. Who will come to see Priyanka Gandhi? People will rather visit Kaziranga and watch tigers, rhinos, and time spent there will be more useful,'' he said. The senior BJP leader was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an election campaign at Majuli. ''What's the benefit of seeing the Gandhi family? They look fit for the Amul campaign, so they are Amul babies. It's more beneficial to watch rhinos at Kaziranga than having a glimpse of Amul babies,'' Sarma added. Leading a two-km long huge roadshow in support of Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi earlier in the day, Vadra said the daily wages of tea garden workers will be hiked if the opposition INDIA bloc wins the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Asked about Gogoi's poll prospects, Sarma said, ''Some people want to say that Gaurav Gogoi was an active parliamentarian. I challenge anyone who can show me a single word spoken by him for the Kaliabor constituency. Has he spoken a single word for Jorhat, Majuli?'' Gogoi is a sitting Congress MP from Kaliabor constituency, which was rechristened as Kaziranga after delimitation last year. This time, he is contesting from Jorhat and looking for a third consecutive term in Lok Sabha. ''We don't need an active parliamentarian to shout 'Rahul Gandhi zindabad'. We need a parliamentarian who can speak for Assam's problems. Gaurav is a spokesperson of the Gandhi family. He has not spoken a single word for the people of Assam,'' Sarma said. The chief minister said that he gets inspiration if someone speaks for Assam inside Parliament since that helps expediting any pending work. ''He (Gogoi) only speaks about Manipur in Parliament. Is he a son-in-law or grandchild of Manipur? Why does he speak about Manipur day and night? And some people here are enthused that he spoke a lot in Parliament. Assam remained backward for such statements,'' the CM asserted.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra promises increase in wages for tea garden workers in Jorhat

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee, made a commitment to the tea garden workers in Jorhat. She promised an increase in daily wages if the Opposition alliance is voted to power.

Congress will raise Assam tea garden workers wages: Priyanka Gandhi during Jorhat roadshow

JORHAT: Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, on Tuesday (April 16), led a massive roadshow at Jorhat constituency in Assam in support of party candidate Gaurav Gogoi. Leading the spirited roadshow in Jorhat district of Assam, Priyanka Gandhi pledged to increase daily wages of tea garden workers if INDIA bloc, the opposition alliance led by the [] The post Congress will raise Assam tea garden workers wages: Priyanka Gandhi during Jorhat roadshow appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

Assam Rifles vehicle ambushed near Namdhang; one personnel injured

Assam Rifles vehicle ambushed near Namdhang; one personnel injured At least one Assam Rifles personnel was injured after unidentified gunmen ambushed a vehicle of the security force at Namdang area in Margherita bordering Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, the officials said. According to the officials, the injured personnel have been airlifted for treatment. A vehicle-mounted patrol of three vehicles of Assam Rifles moving from Changlang towards Margherita was ambushed by unknown personnel near Namdhang at around 8:30 am on April 16, the officials said. The officials further said that the troops retaliated and thwarted the ambush and in the process, one person sustained gunshot wounds. The individual has been evacuated to Military Hospital Jorhat and his condition is stable, they added. Further details are awaited. (ANI)

Congress will raise tea workers' wages in Assam: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led a roadshow in Jorhat district of Assam, advocating for party candidate Gaurav Gogoi and promising to increase the daily wages of tea garden workers if the opposition alliance wins the Lok Sabha elections. She criticized the ruling party, claiming they aim to alter the Constitution, which would negatively impact the common people.

Priyanka Gandhi holds roadshow in Assam in support of Gaurav Gogoi

Titabor: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vandra on Tuesday led a roadshow in Jorhat district of Assam in support of party candidate Gaurav Gogoi. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary landed at Jorhat airport this morning and straightaway reached Titabor, the assembly seat of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi and a part of Jorhat Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

Assam: Priyanka Gandhi reaches Jorhat to campaign for Gaurav Gogoi

Guwahati: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has reached Assams Jorhat on Tuesday to campaign for its candidate Gaurav Gogoi. Priyanka is expected to engage in a series of impactful road shows in Tatabar and Jorhat. Priyankas campaign in Assam is part of Congress effort to strengthen its foothold in the state. Following her engagements in [] The post Assam: Priyanka Gandhi reaches Jorhat to campaign for Gaurav Gogoi appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

School administration provides house to meritorious students in Jorhat

HT Bureau GUWAHATI, April 15: Bohag Bihu turned out to be a very joyous occasion for Rajen Pator and his two daughters as they got a new home on the occasion. Pator and his daughters lived in a makeshift house in the Rajoi village in Jorhat as their financial condition is not sound. When his []

It's an illusion: Sonowal dismisses Congress remark of there being an undercurrent in favour of party in NE states

It's an illusion: Sonowal dismisses Congress remark of there being an undercurrent in favour of party in NE states Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday dismissed Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's remark that there is an undercurrent in favour of the Congress in North-Eastern states and said that it is an illusion. With a sarcastic smile, he said, This is their (Congress) illusion. They don't have neti (policies), neta (leaders), or niyat (intentions). They have lost their way. The public has rejected them from their hearts. They only exist in the media. Earlier today, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed significant support for Congress across all states in the Northeast, including Assam. All the states of the North East have a strong undercurrent in favour of the Congress: Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura. Our candidates are fighting strongly. Some state governments, especially those in Assam, are trying to create hurdles in our campaign. Assam CM and 7 of their ministers are paying attention to only one seat. The CM is sitting in Jorhat because he is nervous that our candidate, Gaurav Gogoi, will definitely win, Ramesh said. Notably, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi will challenge BJP leader Topon Kumar Gogoi in the 2024 elections from the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency. Meanwhile, Topon Kumar Gogoi is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Jorhat parliamentary constituency and a sitting MP. Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh and Supriya Shrinate addressed a press conference in New Delhi today. Further, Sonowal showed confidence in the BJP-NDA alliance, stating that the alliance will secure up to 23 out of 25 seats in the upcoming elections. They won't win anything. They are heading towards zero. That's why, as I have said before, the people have seen development and benefited from it. The people have gained confidence. They have the opportunity to live with dignity and have received social security. All of this is thanks to PM Modi. For what he has done in 10 years, people have faith in him. That's why you'll see in this election, BJP with the NDA alliance will win up to 23 out of 25 seats, Sonowal said. The Lok Sabha polls for 14 seats in Assam will be held in three phases starting on April 19. In this Lok Sabha election in Assam, the BJP is contesting in 11 out of 14 seats, while its ally parties, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), are contesting in two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri) and UPPL in one seat (Kokrajhar), respectively. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 7 of the 14 seats in Assam. Both the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) claimed three seats each. During the 2019 elections, the BJP increased its seat count to 9, while the Congress maintained its three seats, and the AIUDF won a single seat. (ANI)

Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal to contests from Dibrugarh; Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi faces tough fight in Jorhat

Sonowal is pitted against Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi, a party formed after anti CAA movement. Gogoi has shifted his constituency from Kaliabor to Jorhat following the delimitation exercise of last year.

Battle of Jorhat: Acid test for BJP, Congress in Ahom Stronghold

Elections to the two-member constituency of Vijayapur and Bagalkot to the legislative council from local bodies is expected to see an interesting clash between Congress and BJP Elections to the two-member constituency of Vijayapur and Bagalkot to the legislative council from local bodies is expected to see an interesting clash between Congress and BJP Guwahati: The election in Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency is proving to be one of the most keenly watched contests in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Assam. The seat is currently held by its second term MP, Tapan Gogoi. This election was considered a walkover for the BJP led coalition, until the Congress introduced a high-profile candidate and its deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi who also happens to be the son of three-time late chief minister Tarun Gogoi. The two check somewhat the same boxes, as both belong to the Ahom community, who hold the key for the constituency, also considered to be the cultural capital of Assam. It encompasses 12 assembly segments. It will vote in phase one on April 19. Traditionally, Jorhat has been a stronghold of the Congress, consistently winning elections. However, the BJP has made inroads in recent times, capitalising on its focus on development and outreach programmes. The close contest in the 2019 Lok Sabha election reflects this shift, with the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) victory in Ahom stronghold seen as a significant achievement . Jorhat boasts of a vibrant educational scene with a wide range of institutions catering to diverse fields. The prestigious National Institute of Design and the North East Institute of Science and Technology are present here. It also boasts of Assam Womens University, two engineering colleges and a medical college. Jorhat also houses the worlds oldest and largest Tea Research Organization, a testament to its rich agricultural heritage. The Assam Agricultural University strengthens the regions agricultural knowledge base. Many of these institutions came into existence during the Congress regime. Apart from its several government schemes starting from ration to cash transfer scheme-- Orunodoi, the BJP has placed itself well with the planned inauguration of the 125-ft statue of Bir Lachit Borphukan and Ahom hero, and the UNESCO nomination for Charaideo Maidam, also referred to as the Pyramids of Assam. Topon Gogoi who recently had some injury in wheelchair highlights BJP government's achievements, while Gaurav Gogoi focuses on father's legacy besides promising to implement the Congresss election manifesto for Youth Justice, Farmer Justice, Women Justice, Workers Justice and Equity Justice. He emphasises the importance of empowering the youth, supporting farmers, protecting womens rights, ensuring fair treatment for workers and promoting equality. I am determined to work towards the betterment of our youths, who are the backbone of our nation. They deserve good education and better job opportunities. Similarly, the farmers are the backbone of our economy and they deserve dignity, fair prices for their produce and better living conditions, says Gaurav Gogoi who is largely focusing on door to door campaigns to reach out to the voters. Reading the mood of the electorates, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is not leaving any stone unturned by making his presence felt by addressing a series of election rallies in the constituency that has welcomed entry of Gaurav Gogoi in the fray equally.

Assam: AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal slams Gaurav Gogoi for offering namaz on Eid

AIUDF leader, Badruddin Ajmal, has taken a swipe at Congress leader, Gaurav Gogoi, for his Eid-ul-Fitr prayers. Ajmal accused both Gogoi and his late father, Tarun Gogoi, of overlooking the Muslim community in Jorhat. The AIUDF chief called on Hindu voters to rethink their support for Gogoi, pointing to his Eid prayers as proof of his alleged disregard for their concerns. Ajmal blasted Gogoi for what he saw as tokenism during prayers, claiming that Gogoi had not adequately represented Muslim issues in Parliament. He urged Muslim voters in Jorhat to reject Gogoi, focusing on his parliamentary performance and recent participation in Eid prayers, indicating a new affiliation with Islam. Ajmal also expressed pleasure at the prospect of Gogoi's electoral loss. Earlier, Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, too, had criticised Gaurav Gogoi, questioning his religious dedication. Sarma pointed out Gogoi's participation in Eid celebrations whilst seemingly neglecting the consecration of the Ram Mandir. Sarma questioned Gogoi's absence during the temple consecration event, given his participation in protests alongside Rahul Gandhi in Nagaon.

Gaurav Gogoi campaigns in tea gardens of Assam

Gaurav Gogoi, Congress candidate, criticizes BJP for unmet wage promises and advocates for fair wages, addressing issues like lack of drinking water and unmet ST status for the tea community, in the Jorhat Lok Sabha election.

Who is Himanta Biswa Sarma to question my devotion and faith towards Lord Ram? Gaurav Gogoi

Who is Himanta Biswa Sarma to question my devotion and faith towards Lord Ram? Gaurav Gogoi After Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attacked Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi for offering namaz, party leader Gogoi asked who the Assam CM was to question his devotion and faith towards Lord Ram, adding that the BJP neither belongs to any religion nor to any God. Who is Himanta Biswa Sarma to question my devotion and faith towards Lord Ram? Our faith in Lord Ram is the right of every Indian citizen. Now, the BJP has come forward to give the certificate. The BJP neither belongs to any religion nor to any god. The party that takes votes in the name of God does not have faith in God, Gaurav Gogoi told ANI on Saturday. He further predicted that after the BJP government loses the Lok Sabha elections, the Assam CM will be the first one to leave the party. I want to give a prediction that when the BJP government will fall after the Lok Sabha elections, the first one to leave BJP will be Himanta Biswa Sarma, he added. Meanwhile, reacting to the Aksai Chin issue, the Congress MP held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible and said that the BJP should tell us what steps it has taken regarding the China issue. Instead of going into history, look at the present. The BJP should tell us what steps it has taken regarding the China issue. Today, the way China is building relations with our neighbouring countries, India is becoming weak in its own region. The Prime Minister is responsible for this. Because for him, foreign policy is only about promoting his image. He has not done the work to increase the security and strength of the country, he added. He further extended his greetings to all the people of Assam on the occasion of Bihu. Today is the festival of Bihu. On this auspicious occasion, I extend my heartiest greetings to all the people of Assam. People have made up their minds, that we are winning Jorhat, he said. Earlier on Friday, the Assam Chief Minister questioned Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and Akhil Gogoi for offering Eid Namaz. We don't have 'Hindu-Muslim' on our minds. Congress has just one caste on its mind. When there is action, there is also a reaction. Yesterday, when Gaurav Gogoi and Akhil Gogoi offered namaz, I thought that it was fine that they offered namaz but why did they not offer prayers to Ram Lalla on the day of the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Temple? Why did they call Lord Krishna 'Love Jihadi'? Assam CM said. Sarma alleged that it is a kind of appeasement politics towards the Muslim society that Gogoi is trying hard. We should love both Muslims and Hindus but if they do appeasement politics, there would be a counter-reaction to counter-action, he added. Elections for the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam will take place in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7. Notably, the election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in the general election. The counting of the votes will be held on June 4. (ANI)

There is a mini Thailand in India, make plans with your partner to see the natural beauty

Tucked away in the northeastern corner of India lies a hidden paradise known as 'Mini Thailand.' This enchanting destination, nestled amidst the lush greenery of Assam, offers a breathtaking blend of natural beauty and cultural richness that will leave you spellbound. As you embark on this journey with your partner, get ready to immerse yourselves in a world of serenity, adventure, and romance. Embrace the Tranquility of Majuli Island Your first stop on this romantic escapade is the mesmerizing Majuli Island, the largest river island in the world. Accessible via a serene ferry ride from the city of Jorhat, Majuli welcomes you with open arms, inviting you to explore its pristine landscapes and serene surroundings. Lose yourselves in the tranquility of the island as you stroll hand in hand along its sandy shores, surrounded by the tranquil waters of the Brahmaputra River. Experience the Cultural Extravaganza of Kaziranga From Majuli, venture further into the heart of Assam to discover the famed Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the majestic Indian rhinoceros. Embark on an unforgettable safari through the dense forests and sprawling grasslands of Kaziranga, where you and your partner can spot a myriad of exotic wildlife in their natural habitat, including tigers, elephants, and deer. Indulge in the Flavors of Assamese Cuisine No trip to 'Mini Thailand' would be complete without savoring the delectable flavors of Assamese cuisine. Treat your taste buds to a culinary journey through the diverse culinary landscape of the region, sampling mouthwatering delicacies such as masor tenga (sour fish curry), xaak bhaji (assorted leafy greens), and pitha (traditional rice cakes). Don't forget to wash it all down with a refreshing glass of apong (traditional rice beer) for the perfect gastronomic experience. Relax and Rejuvenate in the Lap of Nature After days filled with adventure and exploration, unwind and rejuvenate amidst the tranquil surroundings of 'Mini Thailand.' Check into a cozy eco-resort or riverside cottage, where you can bask in the serenity of nature and enjoy uninterrupted views of the picturesque landscapes. Pamper yourselves with relaxing spa treatments, yoga sessions, or simply unwind with a romantic candlelit dinner under the starlit sky. Capture Memories That Last a Lifetime As you bid farewell to 'Mini Thailand,' take a moment to reflect on the unforgettable memories you've created with your partner. From romantic sunset cruises along the Brahmaputra River to thrilling wildlife encounters in Kaziranga, each moment spent together has been a treasure to cherish for a lifetime. Capture these memories through photographs and mementos, ensuring that the magic of your journey lives on long after you've returned home. Make a plan to go here with your partner, this is a romantic destination These are the best tourist places to visit in Uttarakhand, you can plan with friends in budget Summer Travel: Top 10 Summer Vacation Destinations in India

Jorhat Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Check key candidates, date of voting and other important details

In the past, the Congress was the dominating party on this seat. But lately, the BJP has been doing better on this crucial Assam seat.

Assam CM Mocks Congress Leader Gaurav Gogoi For Offering Eid Namaz Says Should Show Same Respect For Ram Mandir

Guwahati, Apr. 12: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday questioned Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's religious commitment while mocking him for offering namaz of Eid and protesting on the day of Ram Mandir consecration. Mr Sarma who has been addressing at least one or two public meetings everyday in Upper Assam districts, told reporters, I saw Mr Gaurav Gogoi offering namaz that too following all the steps correctly. I dont know----how and when did he learn it but it amuses me----why similar respect and religious fervour was not shown by them at the time of Ram Mandir consecration ? Referring opposition leaders taking part in namaz during Eid he went on saying, Mr Akhil Gogoi and Mr Gaurav Gogoi offered namaz in Sivsagar and Mr Gaurav knows how namaz is performed and he knows better where he has learnt...But the thing is, on Eid along with PM Modi even we have extended our wishes. I have only one question in mind, the day when Ram Mandir consecration was going on, why Mr Akhil Gogoi and Mr Gaurav Gogoi did not feel the same religious fervour...While Ram Temple's consecration was going on, he was accompanying Mr Rahul Gandhi in Nagaon protesting. The respect towards Eid should be equal towards Ram Mandir. Indicating that it was aimed at to appease Muslim voters, Mr Sarma however said that the problems of Assamese Muslims cannot be resolved by appeasement but only by providing state government jobs, giving quality education, speak against child marriage to take them forward. Mr Gaurav Gogoi has done a major sin by not being part of Ram Temple consecration instead buttered Mr Rahul Gandhi in Nagaon to participate in a protest...Namaz on the one hand and on the other hand protest on the day of Ram Temple consecrationit reflects mindset, said the chief minister. Mr Sarma also questioned the Congress MP Mr Gaurav Gogoi and Mr Akhil Gogoi and asked where he was when APCC President Bhupen Borah called Lord Krishna a 'love jihadi'. It is significant that Mr Borah had formally apologised for his remarks then. The Assam chief minister reiterated that the Hindu community is now questioning Mr Gaurav Gogoi's respect for his own community, following his participation in Eid prayers while protesting on the day of the Ram Temple consecration. It is significant Mr Gaurav Gogoi has been presenting a formidable challenge to BJP MP Tapan Gogoi in Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency that will go to polls in the first phase of polling on April 19.

Himanta would have been nowhere without Congress: Jairam Ramesh

GUWAHATI: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma would have been nowhere without the grand old party which had given him identity and position during its rule in the state. The Congress general secretary, in an interview with PTI here, claimed that Sarma was among the first to quit the grand old party when it lost power and join the washing machine of BJP. The Congress gave him identity and position, along with authority and responsibility, during the tenure of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi but he chose to betray the party when it was not in power. It is a matter of great sorrow that those given a responsible position turn out to be opportunists. But that has not shattered our self-confidence, he said. Opportunists leaving the Congress actually work in the party's favour, making way for ideologically committed youngsters, the Rajya Sabha MP said. Himanta says NDA facing no contest in first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Assam Terming Sarma's claim that Congressmen are quitting the party in hordes to join the BJP a psychological game, Ramesh said the party's state unit chief Bhupen Kumar Borah has given him a eply in the strongest possible language. Borah has filed a defamation case against Sarma for claiming that he would join the BJP soon. Ramesh claimed that if the Congress returns to power at the Centre, all regional parties and so-called regional satraps will return to our fold. I can assure you that there will be a reverse migration whether in Assam, Nagaland or Manipur. They will all return once the Congress-led INDIA government comes to power in Delhi, he claimed. Asked about filing of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam, Ramesh said he raised a very fundamental issue that while there is GST across the country; in Assam, additionally, there is HST, which is a service tax, in an apparent reference to the CM. The yatra received a massive response during its eight-day Assam leg, he said. Ramesh said Congress has fielded both young and energetic, as well as experienced candidates in Assam this election. Nagaon's sitting MP Pradyut Bordoloi is a very experienced parliamentarian. Jorhat candidate Gaurav Gogoi is the voice of the Congress in Lok Sabha and has spoken on foreign and defence policies. Congress brings communities together, BJP's '400' slogan is another jumla: Gaurav Gogoi In fact, he had opened the debate on the 2023 no-confidence motion on the Prime Minister's silence on Manipur, he said. It is important to recognise that what has been happening in Manipur in the last 11 months is only a trailer of what will happen in other parts of Northeast if the BJP and RSS are allowed to grow further in the region, the Rajya Sabha MP said. The BJP has already abrogated Article 370 and now, special provisions for northeastern states under Article 371 A, B, C, F, G and H for Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh respectively are under threat, he claimed. Ours is a land of great diversity and we have to protect it. While Congress stresses unity, the BJP seeks uniformity. This is a battle between those who want to strengthen unity by respecting diversity and those who want to impose artificial uniformity, Ramesh said. The Lok Sabha elections will be fought on economic issues, focusing on what the Prime Minister has done regarding price rise, income disparities, livelihood issues and protecting local culture, and not on what the BJP is creating hype about, he said. BJP leaders are masters of creating hype and playing psychological games to put pressure on the Congress. They have frozen our accounts and taken away Rs 300 crore donated by our supporters, not through electoral bonds, he claimed. The BJP got Rs 8,200 crore from electoral bonds, which is legalised corruption. It is an uneven playing field, no doubt, but we will be successful on the strength of our guarantee card and our commitments which people know we are going to fulfill, Ramesh asserted. INTERVIEW | 'Assam Congress will see mass exodus after LS polls': Himanta takes dig at Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi likely to campaign in Assam for second phase of Lok Sabha elections

GUWAHATI: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Nagaon in Assam on April 20 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Voting in Assam will occur over three phases, scheduled for April 19, April 26 and May 07 respectively. Priyanka Gandhi is also likely to participate in election rallies in Jorhat and Dibrugarh constituencies [] The post Congress leader Rahul Gandhi likely to campaign in Assam for second phase of Lok Sabha elections appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

Statue of Valour watches over battle forAhompride inAssams tea capital,Jorhat

TheBJP is pulling out all stops to prevent GauravGogoi, the face of the Congress in thenortheast, from wresting theJorhat parliamentary seat away from it

Jorhat Assam Lok Sabha election 2024: Date of voting, result, candidates, main parties, schedule

Congress gave identity to Himanta Biswa: Jairam Ramesh

Jorhat: Congress gave identity to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and that is why he thinks about it all the time, the partys general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference here, he said that with the opportunist leaders joining the BJP, the Congress is reinventing itself in a newer and stronger Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

Assam: Three arrested with heroin worth Rs 10 crore in Guwahati

Guwahati:At least three persons were nabbed by the police from Beltola in Guwahati, Assam with a huge consignment of suspected heroin. As per sources, the Special Task Force of the Assam Police carried out an operation based on specific inputs. The STF carried out the operation at the Rupkonwar Path. Also Read: Assam | Jorhat [] The post Assam: Three arrested with heroin worth Rs 10 crore in Guwahati appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

Demise of renowned sports figure

HT Correspondent JORHAT, April 9: Amal Baruah, a noted sports organiser, who was a former Jorhat District Sports Association secretary, a former secretary of Assam Volleyball Association, and an accomplished football referee, breathed his last at a hospital in Mumbai in the wee hours of Tuesday (April 9). Baruah, a sports pensioner of the state []

Gaurav Gogoi promises justice for all in Jorhat rally

Dignitaries during launch of poster release programme in five different institutions in Meghalaya, which will be organised by Agrivision in collaboration with Central Agricultural University, (Imphal), Manipur, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, and ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, on Tuesday. The initiative aims at advancing agricultural innovation.

The post Dignitaries during launch of poster release programme in five different institutions in Meghalaya, which will be organised by Agrivision in collaboration with Central Agricultural University, (Imphal), Manipur, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, and ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, on Tuesday. The initiative aims at advancing agricultural innovation. appeared first on The Shillong Times .

Assam: 15 out of 35 candidates contesting first phase Lok sabha polls are crorepatis

Guwahati: Fifteen out of the 35 candidates contesting from the five Lok Sabha seats in Assam are crorepatis, an analysis of their affidavits said. Elections to Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Kaziranga, and Sonitpur will be held in the first phase on April 19. Data released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed a multifaceted [] The post Assam: 15 out of 35 candidates contesting first phase Lok sabha polls are crorepatis appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

Miya issues non-relevant in Lok Sabha Polls: Assam CM

Titabor: Terming polygamy, child marriage and other subjects related to Miya community as non-issues in Lok Sabha elections, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that he was raising these problems as he wants social transformation of the minorities and not their votes. In an interview with PTI at Titabor in Jorhat, Sarma also said Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

Himanta says NDA facing no contest in first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Assam

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is not facing any contest in the five seats in the state going to Lok Sabha elections in the first phase on April 19. He said the NDA is facing a contest only in two of the states 14 seats. The BJP is contesting 11 seats while its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United Peoples Party Liberal, are contesting in two seats and one seat respectively. There is no competition in the five seats going to polls in the first phase. We have a competition in one seat in the second phase and one seat in the third phase, Sarma told journalists on Monday. But we are in the lead if you calculate the votes of 2021 Assembly elections based on (last years) delimitation of constituencies, he added. An NDA election in Northeast this time The five seats going to polls in the first phase are Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga and Sonitpur. The BJP is contesting all of these seats. Sarma did not name the two constituencies where the NDA is facing a contest but the opposition parties are expected to give the ruling coalition a run for its money in Jorhat, Nagaon and Dhubri seats. Toughest battle The NDA is facing the toughest battle in Jorhat where the BJPs Topon Kumar Gogoi, who is the sitting MP, will vie against Congress biggie Gaurav Gogoi. Some ministers are frequently visiting the constituency for campaigning. Sarma is leading the poll campaign here. It's Gogoi vs Gogoi in 'silent' election in Jorhat The BJPs Suresh Bora is pitted against the Congress Pradyut Bordoloi and the All India United Democratic Fronts (AIUDF) Aminul Islam in a triangular contest in Nagaon. Bordoloi is the sitting MP while Islam is an MLA, representing the Dhing constituency falling under the Nagaon parliamentary seat. In Dhubri, the contest is expected between AIUDF chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, who is the sitting MP, and Rokibul Hussain of the Congress. The BJP allowed the AGP to contest from the seat as per their seat-sharing arrangement. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit the state on Tuesday for campaigning. He will address a rally in Lakhimpur. The BJPs Pradan Baruah is the sitting MP and he is seeking re-election for the third straight term. Later in the day, Shah will take part in a road show in Tinsukia town falling under the Dibrugarh parliamentary seat. Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal is up against the Assam Jatiya Parishads Lurinjyoti Gogoi and the Aam Aadmi Partys Manoj Dhanowar here. INTERVIEW| CAA won't impact Assam's indigenous people; IMDT was discriminatory: Union Minister Sonowal Assam BJP aims for Muslim votes, highlights development in Muslim areas

Tea garden workers: The deciding factor in Lok Sabha polls in Assam

Tea garden workers: The deciding factor in Lok Sabha polls in Assam As Assam gears up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unfolding in three phases, the focus intensifies on the tea garden workers, a significant voter base poised to influence the outcomes in at least three of the five constituencies contesting in the first phase. There are more than 70 lakh tea tribe community people across the state, including around 10 lakh workers in the organized sector working in 856 tea estates. Assam produces around 55 per cent of India's tea. This demographic, integral to the state's identity and economy, could be pivotal in shaping the electoral battle in Dibrugarh, Kaziranga, and Sonitpur, with Jorhat also seeing a substantial number of tea tribe voters. Amid this electoral fervour, political parties, notably the BJP and Congress, are actively courting the support of the tea tribe community, a move that underscores the community's potential to sway the electoral results in these regions. The people of the tea tribe community have been facing lots of problems since independence. Bhaskar Kalindi, a former leader of the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATTSA), said that there are around 55 lakh tea tribe community voters across the state, and most of the tea tribe community voters are in Dibrugarh, Kaziranga, Jorhat, Sonitpur Lok Sabha seats. The current BJP government in Assam has increased the daily wage of tea garden labourers to Rs 251, and we request the government to increase it more. I am a tea tribe community youth. Earlier, the road connectivity in the tea garden areas was very poor. Now the road connectivity has improved, and the state's current government has established schools and Anganwadi centres in the tea garden areas. During the Congress regime, there was nothing. This government has also declared a holiday on our festival Karam Puja Day, Kalindi told ANI. He further said that tea garden voters will become a major factor in this election in at least three parliamentary constituencies in the state. Earlier, the tea garden labourers had received their wage in cash, but the current government has opened bank accounts against each worker. Earlier, the workers did not have any bank accounts. The people of the tea garden areas are now very happy with the work done by the current government, Kalindi said further. He also said that the Assam government has also made reservations for tea garden people in government jobs. If the government will give ST status to the tea tribe community, then we will be more happy, Bhaskar Kalindi said. Ashar Orang, a tea tribe community voter, said that Congress had ruled for 70 years, and there was no development of the tea tribe community people. But the BJP-led government is gradually working for the development of this community people. People are now getting benefits. The current government is also focusing on development in the education sector in the tea garden areas, Orang said while speaking to ANI. Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ashar Orang said that not only the tea tribe community but the Prime Minister is also working for the development of all sections of people. On the other hand, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president Atul Bora, who is also the local MLA of Bokakhat assembly constituency under the Kaziranga Lok Sabha seat, told ANI that the tea garden community people were the vote bank of Congress, and they didn't do anything for the development of these people. There are still many issues, but our government under the leadership of Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma has resolved many problems of the tea garden people. Now the tea garden people are very happy with the work done by this government, Atul Bora said. My constituency is a tea garden workers-dominated constituency. In today's meeting, thousands of tea garden people arrived to see the Chief Minister. The NDA candidate for the Kaziranga parliamentary constituency is also a tea garden community person, he added. Assam Congress leader, Rituparna Konwar, claimed that a lot of work had been done during the Congress government's tenure in the state and that the current BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had failed to increase tea garden workers' daily wages. During our regime, we did a lot of development works for tea tribe community people. Our government did socio-economic upliftment of the tea tribe community. Congress never used the tea tribe community as a vote bank. We increased their political representation, Rituparna Konwar told ANI. In this election, Congress has given the party tickets to two candidates who belong to the tea tribe community, but BJP has fielded only one, he said. The BJP-led government sold state-owned tea gardens in Assam to private companies and the government has failed to increase the daily wage of the tea garden workers, he alleged. In this Lok Sabha election in Assam, the BJP is contesting in 11 out of 14 seats, while its ally parties, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), are contesting in two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri), and UPPL in one seat (Kokrajhar), respectively. Elections for the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam will take place in three phases on April 19, April 26, and May 7. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 7 of the 14 seats in Assam. Both the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) claimed three seats each. During the 2019 elections, the BJP increased its seat count to 9, while the Congress maintained its three seats, and the AIUDF won a single seat. (ANI)

INTERVIEW | 'Assam Congress will see mass exodus after LS polls': Himanta takes dig at Rahul Gandhi

TITABOR: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that an exodus of Congress leaders began after Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' passed through the state. In an interview with PTI at Titabor in Jorhat district, Sarma slammed Gandhi for raking up topics such as caste census and Manipur violence in Assam without having a proper briefing on the ground situation. He claimed that more leaders of the grand old party will join the BJP after the Lok Sabha elections. During 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', he (Gandhi) did a lot of (political) harakiri on the roads. People, including Congress leaders, got very offended. That helped us a lot, he said when asked if the yatra would have any impact on Lok Sabha elections in the state. Sarma claimed the exodus from Congress started after the yatra and it is continuing. Included 'nyay' word to my yatra as injustice leading to hatred in country: Rahul Gandhi Rahul doesn't know the culture of a state. He doesn't study or discuss with his colleagues. He comes and irritates people. If we go to a state, we will have a proper briefing like who are the cultural icons, what things are to be said or not to be said and what are the sensitivities of that state, he added. The Chief Minister, who travels extensively across India to campaign for BJP during different elections, claimed that he takes briefing and debriefing before going to a state so that nothing goes wrong. Rahul comes without that kind of briefing. And he, directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, ends up humiliating the local people and that creates a problem, he added. Giving an example, Sarma said Gandhi raised the issues of caste census and Manipur violence in Assam although one of these topics have any relevance here. Assam is a casteless society and people do not believe in casteism. If suddenly someone comes here and talks about caste census, nobody will accept that. Caste census may be relevant in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, but not in Assam, he said. When you come to Assam and go on speaking about Manipur, people feel disconnected because Manipur and Assam are two different states, Sarma said. He said neither Manipur has any impact on Assam nor has Assam any impact on Manipur. But many people coming to Assam started asking questions about Manipur. That means they came without briefing. Every time, Rahul comes to Assam without taking a briefing of Assam and that's the problem, Sarma said. When asked if it was the fault of Assam Congress for not briefing Gandhi properly, Sarma, who was once a member of the opposition party, chose to blame the Wayanad MP, calling him as an impatient person. Getting an audience for the briefing is the problem. You have to give time, you have to have patience. He (Gandhi) is an impatient person. You need a lot of patience to understand the culture, anthropology and geography. So, you have to give at least two hours before you come to a state, the BJP leader said. The 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' passed through Assam from January 18 to 25, during which Gandhi had locked horns with Sarma, terming him he most corrupt CM of India. The eight-day journey remained very eventful witnessing high-voltage drama, accusations from both sides, clashes and multiple FIRs at different police stations. Sarma, in several election campaign meetings in the last one month, claimed that all Congress leaders, including the party's state chief Bhupen Kumar Borah will join the BJP in the coming days. Asked if he made this statement on the basis of facts or if it was just political rhetoric, the BJP leader said, Today, if you go to the Congress headquarters or any district office, you will see empty chairs and empty rooms. Because in the last three months, most of the Congress people I know have joined the BJP. Now, there are hardly 30-40 state leaders in the Congress. I think that after Lok Sabha elections, all other leaders will join the BJP, he said. Caste census, economic mapping will 'uproot' 50 per cent reservation limit: Rahul Gandhi In recent times, several hundred Congress members and leaders have joined the BJP across Assam. Dissatisfaction grew after the opposition party published the names of the nominees for the general elections. Voting in 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam will take place in three phases on April 19, 26 and May 7. When asked specifically about his claim of Borah joining the ruling party early next year, Sarma said, What I have said is that every Congressman will join the BJP in due course of time. Almost everybody, who has filed defamation cases or has spoken against us on the floor of the assembly, has joined us. I don't think Bhupen Borah will be an exception. Taking strong objection to the statement, Borah has already filed a Rs 10-crore defamation suit against Sarma, claiming that various statements made by the BJP leader have damaged his public image and the party. The Chief Minister had also stated that some will be left in the Congress and will never join the saffron party. Himanta 'identifies' Rahul's alleged body double during Nyay Yatra in Assam Regarding his statement, Sarma, without naming anyone, said, There are two to three leaders in Assam whose fathers were former chief ministers. Also, there may be somebody who is very deeply connected (to Congress) and cannot come or we also would not want to take. Every political party has a negative list. There are 4-5 people on the list. Barring them, everybody will come, he said. Presently, there are three Congress politicians whose fathers were former CMs of Assam. Hiteswar Saikia's son Debabrata Saikia is the leader of the opposition in the assembly, Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav Gogoi is the deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha and a candidate in this election from Jorhat constituency, while Bhumidhar Barman's son Diganta Barman is an MLA. Opposition candidate contesting polls with Congress support which ignored development: Himanta

Political outfit of Sonowal-Kacharis joins oppn forum in Assam

Political outfit of Sonowal-Kacharis joins oppn forum in Assam A regional political outfit of the Sonowal-Kachari community on Sunday joined the United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA), a coalition of various parties in the state. The Sonowal Kachari Gana Mancha formally joined the UOFA in the presence of the forum's president and Congress' state unit chief Bhupen Kumar Borah and MLA Akhil Gogoi at Dibrugarh. Borah, in a post on X, said leaders of the Sonowal Kachari Gana Mancha, a regional political party, that has fought the election to the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council earlier, held a meeting with him and Gogoi, who heads the Raijor Dal. ''A team led by Mancha General Secretary Shri Gopal Sonowal discussed the political situation in five Lok Sabha constituencies--Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Kaziranga--and promised their support. This marks their formal entry into the United Opposition Forum - Assam,'' the state Congress chief wrote on the micro-blogging site. The UOFA was formed as a 16-party forum last year to fight the Lok Sabha elections unitedly against the BJP-led coalition in the state. However, the member parties have now pitted candidates against each other in several constituencies.

Sonowal among oldest contestants in first phase of polls in Assam

Sonowal among oldest contestants in first phase of polls in Assam Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is contesting from Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat, is among eight senior citizens in the fray for constituencies in Assam going to polls in the first phase on April 19. The 62-year-old Rajya Sabha MP is among the elderly contestants, with his party colleague and MLA Ranjit Dutta, who is contesting from Sonitpur, being the oldest at 67, followed by Lakhimpur's 65-year-old Congress candidate Uday Shankar Hazarika. The youngest candidate in the fray is 27-year-old Gobin Biswakarma, who is contesting as an Independent from Lakhimpur, while Republican Party of India's Kaziranga candidate Saleh Ahmed Majumdar is the second-youngest at 29. A total of 15 candidates are in their forties, including 41-year-old Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who is contesting from Jorhat, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa (49), who is contesting from Kaziranga, and Dibrugarh contestants Lurinjyoti Gogoi of Assam Jatiya Parishad (45) and AAP's Manoj Dhanowar (47). Nine candidates are in their fifties, including 55-year-old Topon Gogoi, the sitting MP from Jorhat, Lakhimpur's MP Pradan Baruah (58), and Congress candidate from Sonitpur, Prem Lal Ganju (53). Independent candidates Bikram Ramchiary and Deba Nath Pait, both contesting from Lakhimpur, are in their thirties, aged 32 and 33 respectively. Among the four women candidates in the fray, the eldest is 53-year-old Anima Deka Gupta of Voters Party International, followed by 43-year-old Independent contestant Dilwara Begum Chowdhury and 42-year-old Roselina Tirkey, all from Kaziranga constituency. In the first phase of polling in the state on April 19, a total of 35 candidates are in the fray for Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur constituencies.

It's job call, can't vote in Lok Sabha polls: Jorhat-Majuli ferry operators

It's job call, can't vote in Lok Sabha polls: Jorhat-Majuli ferry operators At a time when the Election Commission of India is leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum participation in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, a few people whose job is to run the daily ferry service in the world's largest river Island of Majuli, will miss the voting as they cannot leave their work for a single day. On these 25-odd people's expertise, the entire communication to the river island is dependent as they are the only ones who drive the ferries between Jorhat's Nimati Ghat and Majuli every day. The ferry service connects the river island to the mainland. Though these nine twin-engine ferries are run by the Inland Water Transport (IWT) Department of Assam, all of them have their masters and drivers from a private firm in West Bengal. One such ferry, MV Lohit, has Tahidul Molla as Master and Mustak Ahmed as Driver, both hailing from Diamond Harbour in the neighbouring state. ''My vote is in Kolkata. I want to go, but I don't think it will be possible to get leave in those days,'' Molla told PTI while sitting behind the helm enroute to Kamalabari ghat in Majuli. He said every vessel has six employees, of which three are IWT staff and the rest are from the Kolkata-based Ali Enterprise. ''We go to our homes once every three months. We will not be able to go in this coming Eid festival also. That's the pain of leaving our families we bear while on duty,'' Molla said with a choking voice. Back at home, he has a wife and two minor sons -- one is in Class 5 and the other is just three years old. Asked about postal ballot facilities for voting as they are engaged in an essential service with the government, Molla said nobody has ever told them about it although officials keep visiting them regularly. The government machinery extensively uses these ferry services as there is no other mode of communication at present. These large vessels even carry vehicles, goods and thousands of people every day from both sides. The irony is the Election Department too used such vessels in transporting voting equipment and people to Majuli, but the very people who ferried them will not be able to vote. Ahmed said they live in the ferry itself all the time, while the local staff go to their homes once in a month. ''We have a small kitchen and a room to stay. It has a capacity for four persons. The local staff also stay here. When we cannot go to family functions and festivals, then we miss those moments a lot,'' he added. Besides his wife, Ahmed has two daughters -- the 19-year-old is studying nursing and the 11-year old is in Class 6. ''There are around 25 people from our company who are engaged as masters and drivers of these nine vessels, which can carry 100 people,'' he added. The ferry service of these large twin-engine vessels began between Nimati and Kamalabari on Thursday after a gap of three months due to drying up of Brahmaputra in winter. However, it was continuing between Nimati and Aphalamukh in Majuli. The locals -- Achyut Das, Rupak Bharali and Pranab Taye -- said they will go to their respective places to cast their votes on April 19, when the first phase of polling will take place in Jorhat constituency. ''The government has not arranged any postal ballot for us. So, we don't have any option but to go for voting. We will go on rotation on that day,'' said Das, a resident of Jorhat. After he returns, Taye and Bharali will go to Sivasagar and Dergaon respectively, they said. All three of them are Lascars in the ship and their services are essential while anchoring the vessel after reaching its destination. The government is presently constructing a bridge between Majuli and Jorhat. In November 2021, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had launched the construction works of the bridge over Brahmaputra. For construction of the 8.25 km Majuli-Jorhat bridge, including immediate approaches over Brahmaputra on NH-715K at Dakshinpat in Majuli, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had sanctioned Rs 925.47 crore. The state government had constituted a cabinet committee to regularly monitor the progress of the project, which is likely to be commissioned by November 2025. To connect Majuli with the mainland, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had in February 2016 laid the foundation of a bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting Jorhat in south bank and Lakhimpur in north bank via the river island. For the same project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2021 again laid the foundation stone for the eight-km long Jorhat-Majuli bridge, to be constructed at Rs 925 crore, before the Assembly polls.

Gogoi vs Gogoi: Ahom voters hold the key to victory in Jorhat Lok Sabha seat

BJP is trying to turn India into a Russian-style oligarchy: Gaurav Gogoi

Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha and the partys candidate for Jorhat says the BJP is arm-twisting everyone from those in the corporate sector to the common people, and is employing a use-and-throw policy for its allies

Assam govt will provide 50,000 more jobs: Himanta

Assam govt will provide 50,000 more jobs: Himanta Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that his government will provide 50,000 additional jobs, besides the one lakh appointments it had promised people previously. He also assured people that they would receive more benefits under ration cards as services would be expanded, and also more women beneficiaries would be added to the 'Orunudoi' scheme. Speaking at an election rally at Titabor in Jorhat district, Sarma said, ''We had promised people of giving one lakh jobs and the Congress had laughed at us then. But we kept our promise and gave employment to one lakh youths.'' ''Now, in the next few years, we will give 50,000 more jobs, spread across different departments such as home and education,'' he said. The CM said that more beneficiaries will be enrolled in different welfare schemes and the facilities will be further expanded. He said more beneficiaries would be added to Orunudoi scheme, under which Rs 1,250 is transferred every month to the bank accounts of women belonging to financially weaker households. Similarly, facilities for families with ration cards will be expanded soon, he added. ''We have not only ensured that more families have ration cards, but are now also going to provide more facilities for such families, from free foodgrains to healthcare to insurance, everything will be covered under it,'' the CM said. Exhorting people to vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third successive term, Sarma said that sustained and accelerated development is possible only under a 'double engine government'. He urged the people of Titabor to not only vote for the BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha polls, but also elect the saffron party's nominee in the 2026 assembly elections. Later, while addressing another rally at Nazira in Sivasagar district, Sarma said people of Nazira assembly seat can ensure faster development of the area by electing a BJP candidate in the next state election. Nazira, which falls under Jorhat Lok Sabha seat, is represented in the assembly by Congress' Debabrata Saikia, who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. Sarma said he will be visiting Nazira after the Lok Sabha elections to address the grievances of the people and also to ensure that Saikia ''does not steal credit for the BJP government's schemes''. Earlier in the day, the CM addressed another rally at Mariani in Jorhat district, where he outlined the schemes especially undertaken for the tea tribes, who form a major chunk of the electorate in the area.

Himanta Biswa Sarma Energizes Election Campaign with Dance Moves

Guwahati: A ssam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma showcased his dance moves on stage during an election campaign held at Titabor Bokahola Bagisa in Jorhat on Saturday. The campaign rally aimed to support Topon Kumar Gogoi, the BJP candidate for the Jorhat parliamentary constituency. Sarma enthusiastically joined the crowd in clapping and dancing to the beats of a popular Jhumur song. In the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Assam, the BJP is contesting in 11 out of the 14 seats, while its ally parties, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and UPPL, are contesting in two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri) and one seat (Kokrajhar) respectively. This is how Himanta Biswa Sharma da hacks EVMs in Assam. What a connect with the public. pic.twitter.com/pk3BA6V6aS Sunanda Roy ???? (@SaffronSunanda) April 6, 2024 Earlier, on March 27, Topon Kumar Gogoi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Jorhat Parliamentary constituency in Assam, filed his nomination papers at the Jorhat district commissioner office for the first phase of the parliamentary elections, accompanied by numerous supporters. The Jorhat Parliamentary Constituency in Assam comprises ten assembly segments, including Jorhat, Titabar, Mariani, Majuli, Teok, Sivasagar, Nazira, Demow, Sonari, and Mahmara. Assam, as a whole, has a total of 14 parliamentary constituencies. Elections for these constituencies will be held in three phases on April 19, April 26, and May 7. Furthermore, the nationwide election for the 543 Lok Sabha seats will be conducted in seven phases, starting from April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in the general election. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on June 4. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured seven out of the 14 seats in Assam. The Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) claimed three seats each. Subsequently, during the 2019 elections, the BJP increased its seat count to nine, while the Congress maintained its three seats, and the AIUDF won a single seat. Iconic red building leans precariously after Taiwan earthquake; Rising death toll reported Alerting the Electoral Landscape: Microsoft's Caution on Potential Election Interference by China Breaking! Fire Breaks Out at NTPC's Kaniha Power Plant in Odisha's Talcher

Will win by over 2 lakh votes against Gaurav Gogoi in Jorhat: Assam BJP MP Topon Kumar Gogoi

Sitting BJP MP Topon Kumar Gogoi expressed confidence in securing victory in the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat against Congress rival Gaurav Gogoi, foreseeing a margin of over two lakh votes. Gogoi emphasized the overwhelming support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and downplayed concerns about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, stating it's not a significant issue for voters.

Assam Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi confident of winning Jorhat Lok Sabha seat

JORHAT: Amidst fervent support from his followers, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi exuded confidence in securing victory in the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat in Assam, asserting that BJP MP Topon Kumar Gogoi will face defeat if the multitude of selfies translates into votes. Having represented the Kaliabor constituency in Assam, Gogoi, now contesting from Jorhat, embarked [] The post Assam Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi confident of winning Jorhat Lok Sabha seat appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .

Three nominations rejected for second-phase Assam polls

Three nominations rejected for second-phase Assam polls The nomination papers of three out of 65 candidates have been rejected during scrutiny for the second phase of polls to five parliamentary constituencies of Assam on April 26, an election official said. The nominations of two candidates were rejected in Nagaon and one in Karimganj. However, in Silchar (SC), Darrang-Udalguri and Diphu (ST), all the papers submitted were found valid. Altogether 65 candidates had filed their nominations for the second phase on the last day on Thursday. In Nagaon, the nominations of independent candidate Biswajit Bordoloi and Hamar Raj Party's Horen Bhumij were rejected, while those of the remaining 13 were found valid, the official said. The prominent candidates in Nagaon are sitting Congress MP Prodyut Bordoloi, BJP's Suresh Bora and AIUDF's Aminul Islam. In Karimganj, the nomination of independent candidate Biplab Das was rejected. Of the 24 other candidates whose papers were found valid, the prominent ones include sitting BJP MP Kripanath Malla, Hafez Rashid Choudhury of the Congress and AIUDF's Sahibul Alam Choudhury. The papers of sitting BJP MP Dilip Saikia, Congress candidate Madhab Rajbongshi, Bodo Peoples' Front (BPF)'s Durga Das Boro and eight other contestants were found valid in Darrang-Udalguri. In Silchar, the nominations of all the eight candidates were found valid. They include state minister Parimal Suklabaidya of the BJP, Surya Kanta Sarkar of the Congress and TMCs Radheyshyam Biswa. In Diphu (ST), all five nominations were found valid. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 8. In the first phase of the polls scheduled on April 19, 35 candidates are in the fray for the Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur constituencies.

BJP and Cong candidates battle it out for Jorhat seat

Nepali tourist alleges molestation by mob in Assam

Nepali tourist alleges molestation by mob in Assam A Nepali woman tourist has alleged that she was molested by a mob in Assam's Jorhat district for purportedly dressing in man's clothing. The police have registered a case in this regard and initiated an investigation now. ''Update regarding allegations of an assault on an individual from Nepal. A case has been registered in this regard,'' Assam Police posted on X on Thursday. It added that the sub-divisional police officer of Titabor is in touch with the complainant and supervising further action as per the law. The allegations of molestation and police inaction were raised by the victim through a social media video earlier on Thursday. She claimed that she was picked on by a mob in Mariani area just because she was dressed like a boy. The group of six-seven people, including a woman and a local reporter, pulled her hair and tore away half of her T-shirt, the woman alleged. Claiming to be a Nepali tourist visiting Assam, she alleged that she was a victim of racism. The woman also alleged that when she visited the local police station the next morning to lodge a complaint, the personnel were not helpful and laughed at her.

Assam: 65 nominations filed in five seats for second phase of polls

Assam: 65 nominations filed in five seats for second phase of polls Altogether 65 candidates have filed their nominations for five Lok Sabha seats in Assam that are going to polls in the second phase on April 26, an election official said on Thursday. As many as 38 candidates filed their nominations on the last day on Thursday. Polling will be held in Karimganj, Silchar, Nagaon, Diphu and Darrang-Udalguri seats in the second phase. BJP's Lok Sabha candidates Suresh Bora (Nagaon) and Dilip Saikia (Darrang-Udalguri) filed their nomination papers in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In Nagaon, sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi filed his nomination papers along with eight others on Thursday, taking the total number of candidates to 15 in the constituency. In the Darrang-Udalguri seat, five candidates filed their nomination papers on the last day, taking the total number of nominees in the fray to 11. Congress candidate Madhab Rajbongshi, Bodo Peoples' Front's Durga Das Boro, SUCI's Jitendra Chaliha, Republican Party of India's Abul Kasem, Gana Suraksha Party's Swarna Devi and Lalit Pegu of Voters Party International had filed their papers earlier. In Karimganj, 20 candidates, including Hafez Rashid Choudhury of the Congress, filed their nominations on the final day, taking the total number of nominees to 25 with sitting BJP MP Kripanath Mallah and AIUDF's Sahibul Alam Choudhury having filed their papers earlier. In Silchar, Rajib Das of Bahujan Maha Party and Independent candidate Ananta Mohan Roy submitted their papers during the day, taking the total number of nominees to eight, including Assam minister Parimal Suklabaidya of BJP, Surya Kanta Sarkar of Congress and Radheyshyam Biswa of Trinamool Congress. In Diphu, John Barnard Sangma of Gana Suraksha Party filed his nomination while five others, Joyram Engleng of Congress, Jotson Bey of Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) and BJP's Amarsing Tisso, had submitted their documents earlier. The nominations will be scrutinised on April 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 8. In the first phase polls on April 19, 35 candidates are in the fray for Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur constituencies. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, BJP held nine seats, Congress three, while the AIUDF has one MP and there is also an Independent parliamentarian from the state.

It's Gogoi vs Gogoi in 'silent' election in Jorhat

JORHAT: The electric poles do not have the banners of political parties nor are posters and festoons seen in towns and rural areas. Assams Jorhat parliamentary constituency will go to the polls within a fortnight but there is no noise on the ground. The poll campaign is invisible. But, call it support for the BJP or otherwise, there are saffron flags galore in urban areas, put up during the recent Ram temple consecration. The focus of political parties, whether or not contesting from Jorhat, is on this prestigious upper Assam seat ever since Congress Gaurav Gogoi decided to contest from here. He faces sitting MP and former student leader Topon Kumar Gogoi of the BJP in the battle between two Gogois. There are two independent candidates in the fray Raj Kumar Duwara and Arun Chandra Handique. Barring Duwara, rest are from the Ahom community that ruled Assam for 600 years pre-independence. Sivasagar, the capital of the erstwhile Ahom kingdom, falls under Jorhat seat. The constituency truly carries the Ahom pride. For decades, it had been a Congress bastion until the BJPs emergence as a powerhouse in 2014. Seven of the 10 Assembly segments here are held by the BJP, two by the Congress and one by an independent. Several Congress leaders from here joined the BJP and the Congress is going to the polls with a weakened party organisation. There is a perception that the battle will be between Gaurav and the BJP, not Congress versus BJP. The Assamese middle-class appears to be tilted in Gauravs favour and there is an apparent undercurrent for change, for he is being seen by many as a youth icon. This section wants him to fill up the Congress vacuum in upper Assam created by the demise of his father, three-time former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Himanta cites 10 reasons to reject Congress in polls, Congress slams Assam CM for 'cheap' remarks Gogoi senior held the Jorhat parliamentary seat for three terms from 1971 until 1985. He also represented the Titabor Assembly seat, which falls under Jorhat, from 2001 until his death in 2020. Two communities, which will decide the fate of candidates in Jorhat, are Assamese and Adivasis (tea garden workers). People have their grievances against the government but most are afraid of speaking up in public. We have issues such as flood and erosion, lack of drinking water, roads and other infrastructure in small towns and rural areas. Then, there is the problem of unemployment. I want Gaurav to win. He can properly raise our issues in parliament, said a voter who wanted to be identified by his surname, Gogoi. The BJPs promise about granting Scheduled Tribes status to six communities, including Ahoms and Adivasis, has remained unfulfilled. Gogoi said the Ahoms would give the party a befitting reply. Amulya Borah, a 93-year-old retired schoolteacher, said he could see in Gaurav the qualities of Hem Barua, a well-known author and former MP (served from 1957-70) who arguably has been Assams best MP. We all have seen Gauravs political acumen. He is young, educated and dynamic, he said. However, there are some who said the BJP should win, so the pro-poor schemes could continue. The various welfare schemes, such as Ayushman Bharat and free ration, are tremendously helping the poor. I believe BJP will retain power in Delhi, said Biswajit Chakraborty, a central government employee. Assam BJP aims for muslim votes, highlights development in muslim areas Considering the difference the Adivasi voters can make, the states BJP-led government came up with various welfare and development schemes for the community after the BJP wrested power from the Congress in 2016. The BJP not only hiked the wages of tea workers, it also built schools and roads in their areas. However, people still have their issues. The politicians remember us only when there is an election. Is it possible to run a family of four to five people with a daily wage of Rs 250? Our ration is also irregular. We tea workers are leading a wretched life, said Lakhsmi, a tea garden worker. Maheswar Goala, who is from the Hunwal Tea Estate, said the BJP should be voted for its development initiatives and welfare schemes. However, Pramila Tanti, a colleague of Lakhsmi, said, Development is fine but the government should also take care of the welfare of people like us. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has a Congress past, had joined the BJP in 2015 after falling out with Tarun Gogoi. Observers say the US-educated Gaurav was the reason, as the Congress promoted him unduly. This election, Sarma is going hard at Gaurav, referring to him as blue blood. For the BJP, Jorhat is the most important seat. It is using all its might to defeat Gaurav. The Congress said the BJP had no idea it would face a contest in Jorhat. Gaurav was elected from Kaliabor the last two times. The Congress shifted him to Jorhat after Kaliabor underwent massive demographic changes following the delimitation exercise last year. Recently, Gaurav stated BJP had targeted the Kaliabor seat as the Congress was virtually invincible there.

Ajanta Neog rallies support for BJP candidates in Jorhat

HT Correspondent JORHAT, April 3: Ajanta Neog, the minister of Finance, Women and Child Development, and the guardian minister of Jorhat district, addressed a series of poll rallies across the Jorhat Assembly segment of the parliamentary constituency on Wednesday. The two main contestants in the fray are the sitting Lok Sabha MPs Topon Kumar []

Field based training for forest staff on hoolock gibbon conservation concludes

HT Bureau GUWAHATI, April 3: The research-driven biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak successfully completed a week-long training program on hoolock gibbon conservation in Assam. The field-based training, which was initiated on March 28 at the Gibbon Conservation Centre of the Hoollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Jorhat, was organised in collaboration with the Jorhat Forest Division of []

War of words intensifies between Topon and Gaurav

HT Correspondent SIVASAGAR, April 2: The war of words between NDA candidate Topon Kumar Gogoi and INDIA candidate Gaurav Gogoi for the prestigious 14 Jorhat parliamentary seat continues as the D-day of the poll battle is drawing close. BJPs sitting MP Topon Kr Gogoi, accompanied by Sonari MLA Dharmeswar Gogoi, addressed several meetings in Baruah []

Assam: Nine nominations filed for second phase of LS polls

Assam: Nine nominations filed for second phase of LS polls Nine candidates in Assam filed their nomination papers on Tuesday, taking the total number of nominees to 14 for the second phase of polls, which will cover five parliamentary constituencies in the state on April 26, an election official said. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was present during the filing of nomination by BJP candidate Amarsingh Tisso for Diphu (ST) constituency. Speaking on the occasion, Sarma said the elections this time was a formality to re-elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to ensure that the development work initiated by him continues. He said the tribal areas of the state suffered from insurgency for decades but it was due to the PM's initiative that violence has ended and development has taken place. In Diphu (ST), two candidates filed their nominations so far with an independent submitting his papers earlier. In Karimganj, AIUDF candidate Sahabul Alam Choudhury and independent aspirant Binoy Krishna Roy filed their nominations, bringing the total number of candidates in the constituency to four. Previously, SUCI(C)'s Prajwal Sudip Dev and independent candidate Dilip Kumar had also submitted their papers. In Silchar (SC), three more candidates filed their nominations. They are SUCI(C)'s Provas Chandra Sarkar, Bangali Nabonirma Sena's Barindra Kumar Das and independent Raju Das. Former Lok Sabha MP Radhey Shyam Biswas of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) submitted his nomination for the Silchar constituency on Monday, taking the total number of candidates to four. In Nagaon, two independent candidates, Abu Shama and Sikha Sarma, filed their nominations, while Saiful Islam Chowdhury of Asom Jana Morcha submitted his papers on Monday, taking the total to three aspirants so far. In Darrang-Udalguri, Lalit Pegu of Voters Party International (VPI) submitted his nomination during the day. Overall, the total number of nominations filed for the second phase polls, covering Nagaon, Darrang-Udalguri, Diphu (ST), Silchar (SC), and Karimganj, stands at 14. The prominent candidates to contest in the second phase are Congress sitting MP Pradyut Bordoloi from Nagaon against BJP's Suresh Bora and AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam. BJP sitting MP Dilip Saikia has been pitted against Congress candidate Madhab Rajbongshi in Darrang-Udalguri. In Silchar (SC), Assam Excise Minister Parimal Suklabaidya is the BJP candidate and he will take on Congress youth leader and district general secretary Surjya Kanta Sarkar. In Karimganj, sitting BJP MP Kripanath Mallah will take on Congress candidate Hafez Ahmed Choudhury and AIUDF's Sahabul Islam Choudhury. The last date for filing of nominations is April 4, scrutiny on April 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 8. In the first phase, 35 candidates are in the fray for the Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur constituencies. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, BJP held nine seats, Congress three, AIUDF and an independent one from the state.

Assam: Two nominations filed for second phase

Assam: Two nominations filed for second phase Two candidates, one each in Silchar (SC) and Nagaon, filed their nominations for the second phase of polls to five parliamentary constituencies in Assam on April 26, an election official said. Radhey Shyam Biswas, a former Lok Sabha MP from All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), filed his nomination in Silchar, while Saiful Islam Chowdhury of Asom Jana Morcha filed in Nagaon. Biswas, previously elected as an AIUDF candidate from Karimganj constituency in 2014, later joined AITC after losing to BJP's Kripanath Mallah in 2019. As of now, five nominations have been filed for the second phase, including two in Karimganj and one in Diphu. The second phase will witness elections in Nagaon, Darrang-Udalguri, Diphu (ST), Silchar (SC), and Karimganj constituencies. Notable candidates in this phase include Congress sitting MP Pradyut Bordoloi from Nagaon, BJP MP Dilip Saikia in Darrang-Udalguri, and Assam Excise Minister Parimal Suklabaidya in Silchar, among others. The last date for filing nominations is April 4, with scrutiny on April 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations being April 8. Polling for the 14 Sabha constituencies in Assam will be conducted in the first three phases of the seven-phase general elections on April 19, 26, and May 7, with five constituencies each in the first and second phases and four in the third phase. In the first phase, 35 candidates are in the fray from Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, and Lakhimpur constituencies. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, BJP held nine seats, Congress three, AIUDF one, and an independent one from the state.

Assam govt announces localised public holidays on polling dates

The Assam government has declared local public holidays on April 19, 26, and May 7 for constituencies holding Lok Sabha polls. The Governor's order under the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881 mandates these holidays for areas with polling on those dates. In the first phase on April 19, polling will take place in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kaziranga, Lakhimpur, and Sonitpur constituencies.

Assam: Rain, hailstorm batter parts of Kamrup district; uproot trees, damage houses

Assam: Rain, hailstorm batter parts of Kamrup district; uproot trees, damage houses After experiencing dry and hot weather for the past few weeks, heavy rains accompanied by hailstorms wreaked havoc in parts of Assam's Kamrup district and neighbouring areas on Sunday, causing extensive damage to public and private properties. Several houses were damaged, and trees and electric poles were uprooted in the Nagarbera area of Kamrup district due to the severe hailstorm. Naitor Kalyanpur, Naitor Udla, Jamlai, Bidyanagar, and Hekra villages are among the worst affected areas. Vehicular movement was also affected for hours as uprooted trees blocked roads in various parts of the district. No injuries or casualties have been reported so far, officials said. According to locals, several houses were damaged. My house was damaged, and many other houses in our locality were also damaged. Many families of Naitor Udla, Kalyanpur, Jamlai, Bidyanagar, Lahotari, and Nagarbera have been badly affected. My wife and daughter were busy cooking when a bunch of trees hit my house due to the storm. Both of them were injured, a Nagarbera resident said. Later I took them to a hospital, he added. Another resident complained about damage to his house and said, My house has been severely damaged due to the rains and hail last night. Several trees have also been uprooted in the area. Earlier, strong winds, heavy rains, and lightning also struck southeastern Manipur and Assam's Jorhat on Sunday, causing damage to several houses, crops, and livestock shelters. Thoubal's Sapam Leikai and Khongjom villages in Manipur were among the most affected areas with severe damage to houses, buildings and crops there. (ANI)

An NDA election in Northeast this time

GUWAHATI: The Lok Sabha election in the Northeast will be an NDA election than merely a BJP election with the saffron party clearly way ahead of the Congress and other opposition parties. The Northeast has altogether 25 seats, 14 of them in Assam. Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh have two seats each while Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim have one seat each. The BJP rules Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal and is a component of the ruling coalitions in Nagaland and Meghalaya. Barring Assam, the BJP and its allies did not have any seat-sharing arrangement in the 2019 elections, yet the NDA bagged 19 of the 25 seats. This election however, they are contesting as team NDA. Mizoram and Sikkim are the aberrations. Despite being allies, BJP and Mizo National Front are contesting separately in Mizoram. Similarly, BJP is pitted against Sikkim Krantikari Morcha in Sikkim. The BJP has entered into seat-sharing arrangements with National Peoples Party (NPP), Naga Peoples Front (NPF) and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Front (NDPP) and continued its understanding with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL) in Assam. The stakes are high for the BJP in Assam. It is contesting 11 seats and allowed AGP and UPPL to contest from two and one seats respectively. When the NPP, which Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma heads, decided to not contest the two seats in Arunachal and instead, support the BJP, the latter returned the favour by opting out of the poll race in Meghalaya. The BJP is supporting the NPP in the state. The BJP is also not contesting the Outer Manipur seat in Manipur and decided to support the NPF. Similarly, it stayed away from Nagaland where the NDPP is contesting in the lone seat. The bonhomie among the NDA constituents is conspicuous. The BJPs face in the Northeast and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hailed the NPP when it decided to support the BJP in Arunachal. This unparalleled commitment among our partners will ensure the NDA secures over 400 seats, Sarma had stated. The BJPs contest in the region will be mostly with the Congress, except for some seats where it has other opposition parties as rivals. Fifteen seats are going to election in the first phase on April 19 five in Assam, two each in Manipur, Meghalaya and Arunachal and one seat each in Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram and Tripura. The opposition INDIA bloc could manage to field consensus candidates only in Manipur and Tripura. The Congress is contesting both Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur seats and one seat in Tripura (Tripura West). The CPM is contesting the other seat (Tripura East). The Congress, which ruled the Northeast for most part but got reduced to a shadow of its past self, is hoping to retain the two seats of Nagaon in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya. The party is also optimistic about Jorhat and Dhubri (both Assam) and Inner Manipur seats.

Not BJP, it will be an NDA election in the Northeast this time

GUWAHATI: The Lok Sabha election in the Northeast will be an NDA election this time, with BJP and other alliance partners approaching the seat arrangements strategically. The Northeast has altogether 25 seats, with 14 seats in Assam. Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh have two seats each while Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim have one seat each. The BJP rules Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal and is a component of the ruling coalitions in Nagaland and Meghalaya. Barring Assam, the BJP and its allies did not have any seat-sharing arrangement in the 2019 elections, yet the NDA bagged 19 of the 25 seats. This election however, they are contesting as team NDA. Mizoram and Sikkim are the aberrations. Despite being allies, BJP and Mizo National Front are contesting separately in Mizoram. Similarly, BJP is pitted against Sikkim Krantikari Morcha in Sikkim. The BJP has entered into seat-sharing arrangements with National Peoples Party (NPP), Naga Peoples Front (NPF) and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Front (NDPP) and continued its understanding with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL) in Assam. The stakes are high for BJP in Assam. It is contesting 11 seats and has allowed AGP and UPPL to contest from two and one seats respectively. When the NPP, which Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma heads, decided to not contest the two seats in Arunachal and instead, support the BJP, the latter returned the favour by opting out of the poll race in Meghalaya. The BJP is supporting NPP in the state. The BJP is also not contesting the Outer Manipur seat in Manipur and decided to support the NPF. Similarly, it stayed away from Nagaland where the NDPP is contesting in the lone seat. The bonhomie among the NDA constituents is conspicuous. The BJPs face in the Northeast and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hailed the NPP when it decided to support the BJP in Arunachal. This unparalleled commitment among our partners will ensure the NDA secures over 400 seats, Sarma had stated. The BJPs contest in the region will be mostly with the Congress, except for some seats where it has other opposition parties as rivals. Fifteen seats are going to election in the first phase on April 19 five in Assam, two each in Manipur, Meghalaya and Arunachal and one seat each in Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram and Tripura. The opposition INDIA bloc could manage to field consensus candidates only in Manipur and Tripura. The Congress is contesting both Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur seats and one seat in Tripura (Tripura West). The CPI (M) is contesting the other seat (Tripura East). The Congress, which ruled the Northeast for most part but got reduced to a shadow of its past self, is hoping to retain the two seats of Nagaon in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya. The party is also optimistic about Jorhat and Dhubri (both Assam) and Inner Manipur seats. Manipur will go to elections in the backdrop of the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis. There is simmering anger against the BJP which the Congress is hoping to capitalise on the Meitei-majority Inner Manipur seat. The NPF is expected to retain the Outer Manipur seat which is reserved for tribals. The Kukis have abstained from contesting.

Sonowal, Gaurav Gogoi among 35 candidates in fray for first phase Assam polls

Sonowal, Gaurav Gogoi among 35 candidates in fray for first phase Assam polls Altogether 35 candidates, including Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, are left in the fray for the first phase polls in Assam on April 19, with the withdrawal of one person on Saturday, an election official said. A total of 38 candidates had filed their papers for the polls to the five constituencies --Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur. One person withdrew his nomination on the last day of withdrawal on Saturday while the nomination papers of two other candidates were rejected during scrutiny on Thursday. In Jorhat, an independent Baba Kurmi withdrew his nomination, leaving four candidates in the fray including sitting BJP MP Topon Gogoi and Lok Sabha Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi. Nomination papers of Republican Party of India's (Athawale) candidate Faisal Ahmed Majumdar (Kaziranga) and independent Mahendra Orang (Sonitpur) were rejected. Kaziranga, the erstwhile Kaliabor constituency which was renamed during the delimitation exercise in the state, has the highest number of 11 candidates, including BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and Congress contestant Roselina Tirkey. In Dibrugarh, three candidates are in the fray including Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal of BJP, Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi as the unified opposition candidate, and Aam Aadmi Party candidate Manoj Dhanowar. Eight candidates are in the fray in Sonitpur. They include BJP MLA and former minister Ranjit Dutta, Congress candidate Prem Lal Ganju and AAP's Rishiraj Kaundilya. In Lakhimpur, nine candidates will contest the polls with the main fight being between sitting BJP MP Pradan Baruah and Congress candidate Uday Shankar Hazarika. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, BJP held nine seats, Congress three, AIUDF and an independent one each from the state.

AFSPA extended in four districts of Assam

AFSPA extended in four districts of Assam The Assam government has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in four districts for six months from April 1. The state government's political department issued a notification, stating that the 'Disturbed Area' tag under the AFSPA has been extended in areas covering Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo and Sivasagar districts. The Assam Police had submitted a report, asserting that there was an improvement in the law and order situation in the state, barring one militant organisation being active in the four districts. The state government's home and political department submitted a proposal to this effect to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which, after due consideration, decided to maintain the 'status quo' regarding 'disturbed area' for an additional six-month period, an official said. Subsequently, the state government, acting on the directive of the Centre, extended the Act till September 30, 2024, he said. The Act empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior warrant. It also gives a certain level of immunity to the security forces in case of misplaced operations. The Act was last extended on October 1, 2023, for six months ending on March 31. During the last extension, the AFSPA was withdrawn from Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. Earlier, the Act was withdrawn from April 1, 2022 from the entire state of Assam, barring nine districts and a sub-division of Cachar district. The state was declared a 'disturbed area' under the AFSPA in November 1990 and it was periodically extended for six months since then.

Nomination papers of all candidates validated for Jorhat LS seat

HT Correspondent JORHAT, March 28: The nomination papers of five candidates for the 14 Jorhat Lok Sabha seat were found to be valid after scrutiny by the concerned authorities here on Thursday. A district administration official, while informing on Thursday evening, stated that the papers of the five candidates were found to be valid after []

Two nominations rejected in Assam's first phase polls during scrutiny

Two nominations rejected in Assam's first phase polls during scrutiny The nomination papers of two candidates, one each from Kaziranga and Sonitpur seats, were found invalid during scrutiny on Thursday, an election official said. Altogether 38 contestants have filed nominations for five constituencies which will go to polls in the first phase in the state on April 19. The papers of the Republican Party of India (Athawale) nominee Faisal Ahmed Majumdar in Kaziranga, and those of independent candidate Mahendra Orang in Sonitpur were rejected, the official said. The papers of the remaining 36 candidates in all five constituencies were found to be valid. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 30. Kaziranga has the highest number of 11 candidates, followed by nine in Lakhimpur, eight in Sonitpur, five in Jorhat and three in Dibrugarh. The prominent candidates contesting in the first phase are Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Lok Sabha Deputy leader of the opposition and Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, sitting MPs Topon Gogoi and Pradan Baruah, Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and BJP MLA Ranjit Dutta. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, BJP held nine seats, Congress three, AIUDF and an independent one each from the state.

Assam: Notification issued for second-phase polling in 5 LS seats

Assam: Notification issued for second-phase polling in 5 LS seats The notification for the second phase of polling in five Lok Sabha seats of Assam on April 26 was issued on Thursday, an election official said. Voting will take place in Nagaon, Darrang-Udalguri, Diphu (ST), Silchar (SC) and Karimganj during the second phase. The prominent candidates to contest in this phase are Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi from Nagaon against BJP's Suresh Bora and AIUDFs Aminul Islam, while BJP MP Dilip Saikia has been pitted against Congress candidate Madhab Rajbongshi in Darrang-Udalguri. In Silchar (SC), Assam Excise Minister Parimal Suklabaidya is the BJP candidate, who will take on Congress youth leader and district general secretary Surjya Kanta Sarkar. BJP MP Kripanath Mallah has been given the ticket in Karimganj against Congress nominee Hafez Ahmed Choudhury and AIUDF's Sahabul Islam Choudhury. In the first phase, 38 candidates filed their nominations for the Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur constituencies. Polling for the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held on April 19, 26 and May 7. The last date for filing of nominations is April 4, scrutiny will be held on April 5 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 8.

General observer arrives in Jorhat

HT Correspondent JORHAT, March 27: The general observer for the 14th Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency, M Satya Sharada Devi (IAS), arrived in Jorhat on Tuesday. A district administration official informed that she is staying in Jorhat Circuit House, from where she will supervise her work. Her contact details are 8133044866 and 0376-2999293.

Burning state issues to be central poll plank for Congress, UOFA: APCC president

HT Correspondent JORHAT, March 27: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah stated that Congress and the United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA) would be fighting the parliamentary elections in the state by highlighting the burning problems of the state. Addressing newspersons at a hotel here on Tuesday, Borah, accompanied by leader and deputy []

Gaurav Gogoi files nomination papers for Jorhat Lok Sabha seat

HT Correspondent JORHAT, March 27: The Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday filed his nomination papers at the Jorhat District Commissioners Office for the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency here. Gaurav Gogoi, accompanied by leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Debabrata Saikia, Titabar MLA Bhaskar Jyoti Baruah, and an advocate, submitted his papers to []