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Campaigning for the third and last phase of the Assam assembly elections ended on Sunday. The fate of 337 candidates, including NEDA convenor and state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will be sealed in EVMs in 40 constituencies on April 6. An array of national leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi campaigned for their respective alliance candidates.
The seats, spread across 12 districts including three in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), witnessed last-minute canvassing by candidates, including 25 women, before the end of campaigning.
Modi, who had campaigned in all three phases, addressed two rallies at Kokrajhar and Tamulpur, both in BTR, and highlighted the signing of the Bodo Accord and development initiatives of the BJP.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, another star campaigner for the BJP, addressed a series of election rallies in Lower Assam constituencies.
Mahajoth’ or ‘Grand Alliance’ comprises Congress, AIUDF, Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF), CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM).
AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, the BJP’s prime target in this election, carried out hectic campaigning for his party candidates along with those of his alliance partners.
The Assam BJP’s campaign trail was led by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state unit chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass, NEDA convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has so far addressed the highest number of election rallies, and other ministers of the outgoing assembly.
Sarma was barred by the Election Commission from campaigning for 48 hours from April 2 for allegedly making threatening remarks against BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary but he appealed for a review and subsequently, it was reduced to 24 hours.
State Congress unit chief Ripun Bora, Lok Sabha MPs Pradyut Bordoloi, Gaurav Gogoi and Abdul Khaleque led the party’s campaign along with AICC Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh.
