Guwahati: Voting for by-elections to five assembly constituencies in Assam began on Wednesday to decide the fate of 34 candidates, an official said. By-elections are being held in Dholai (SC), Sidli (ST), Bongaigaon, Behali and Samaguri assembly constituencies as these seats fell vacant with the representatives of them winning the recent Lok Sabha elections.
Voting began at 7 AM and is scheduled to conclude at 5 PM. Altogether 34 candidates are in the fray with most of them being first-timers, according to the Election Commission of India. Around 9,000 polling personnel have been engaged to ensure smooth elections across 1,078 centres in the five seats, where more than nine lakh electors are registered to cast their votes.
Webcasting is being done from 592 polling stations. Eleven booths have been made as model polling stations and 14 are being managed by all-women staff. Fifteen companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), comprising about 1,500 personnel, have been deployed in all the polling stations, supported by the Assam Police.
For the bypoll in Samaguri, the Congress named Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain's son Tanzil as its candidate against Diplu Ranjan Sarma of the BJP. Jayanta Borah, who joined Congress after being named as its candidate for the Behali seat, is likely to have a direct fight with his earlier party BJP.
The saffron party nominated Diganta Ghatowal from the constituency. Apart from Borah and Ghatowal, Lakhikanta Kurmi from CPI(ML) Liberation as a united opposition candidate and Ananta Gogoi from AAP are also in the fray in Behali. Diptimayee Choudhury in Bongaigaon was nominated by the saffron party's ally Asom Gana Parishad.
She is the wife of AGP MP Phani Bhusan Choudhury, who represented Bongaigaon for eight consecutive terms since 1985 before stepping inside Parliament for the first time earlier this year. Choudhury is locked in a direct contest with Brajenjit Singha of the Congress, which is aiming to snatch the seat from AGP.
In Dholai of Barak Valley, BJP candidate Nihar Ranjan Das is likely to face a tough challenge from Congress nominee Dhrubajyoti Purkayastha. The contest at Sidli in Bodoland Territorial Region has reached an interesting point with Congress putting up a candidate after more than 20 years. A three-cornered fight is expected among Sanjib Warie of Congress, Nirmal Kumar Brahma of United People's Party Liberal and Suddho Kumar Basumatary of Bodoland People's Front.
Of the five seats going to polls, only one was with the Congress, while the remaining four were represented by the BJP-led alliance. Presently, the ruling BJP's strength in the 126-member Assam assembly is 61, while its allies AGP has eight MLAs and UPPL has six. In the opposition camp, the Congress' strength is 26, AIUDF has 15 members, BPF has three and CPI(M) has one MLA. Also, there is an independent legislator.
