Guwahati: The final phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Assam on Tuesday recorded 74.86 percent polling for the remaining four out of 14 Lok sabha seats in the state. Voting was peaceful in the four Lok Sabha seats--- Guwahati, Barpeta, Dhubri and Kokrajhar. The fate of 47 candidates who are in the fray for the four Lok Sabha seats was sealed in the EVM.
Despite inclement weather conditions since morning, long queues were witnessed in most of the polling stations in Western Assam districts where polling was held. Even as polling started at 7 am, in districts like Goalpara, voters started arriving at the polling stations from 5 am in the morning. The IMD had issued a 'yellow warning' for Assam. Heavy rains lashed many parts of these districts in the last two days.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also exercised his franchise with his family in a polling station in Sualkuchi area of Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency.
BJP candidate for Guwahati seat Bijuli Kalita Medhi cast her vote in the morning and appealed to everyone to exercise the democratic right in order to build a healthy democracy while Congress candidate for the seat Mira Borthakur Goswami cast her vote to protect the Constitution of India and saving democracy.
CPM candidate for Barpeta constituency Manoranjan Talukdar and his rival AGP candidate Phani Bhushan Choudhury also cast their votes. Mr Choudhury exuded confidence of winning while Mr Talukdar appealed to everyone to come out and exercise the democratic right. In Dhubri, the contest is being seen largely as a direct one between the AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal and the Congress’s Rakibul Hussain.
With polling for all the 14 Lok Sabha seats coming to an end, the focus in Assam during this election has largely been on the delimitation exercise, which is expected to shape the outcome of many seats.
It was more apparent when Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while referring the changed demography of the constituencies after the delimitation, asserted that that the BJP-led alliance would win 13 seats, pointing out that it was “impossible” for it to win Dhubri where Muslim voters make up well over 85 percent of the electorate.
The delimitation exercise which was finalised by the Election Commission in 2023 was the first such exercise that was carried out in the state since 1976. It is said that the exercise brought about significant changes in the boundaries of many parliamentary and Assembly seats.
A total of 81,49,091 people, including 41,00,544 men, 40,48,436 women and 111 persons of third gender, were eligible to vote in the third phase. Forty-seven candidates, including six women, are in the fray in the four constituencies.
