26% Turnout In Assam Till Noon In Phase 1 Polls: 10 Points
- | Saturday | 27th March, 2021
New Delhi: Bengal and Assam began voting today in the first phase of Assembly elections for each state. Voting is taking place in 30 seats in Bengal and 47 in Assam. In Bengal, the ruling Trinamool and the opposition BJP - who have waged an often vicious campaign over the past few weeks - will each be eager to make a strong start. The Congress-Left alliance - widely expected to finish a distant third - is also in the mix. In Assam the BJP faces a challenge from the Congress-led `mahajot`, or `grand alliance` to retain power.
New Delhi: Bengal and Assam began voting today in the first phase of Assembly elections for each state. Voting is taking place in 30 seats in Bengal and 47 in Assam. In Bengal, the ruling Trinamool and the opposition BJP - who have waged an often vicious campaign over the past few weeks - will each be eager to make a strong start. The Congress-Left alliance - widely expected to finish a distant third - is also in the mix. In Assam the BJP faces a challenge from the Congress-led `mahajot`, or `grand alliance` to retain power.
In the 2016 Bengal election the Trinamool won 26 of these 30 seats. In Assam, the BJP claimed 35 of 47. Polling booths across both states opened at 7 am and close at 6 pm; polling has been extended by an hour due to the Covid pandemic. In Assam, a voter turnout of 26.37 per cent was recorded till noon. In Bengal the turnout was 36.09 per cent.
Here are the top 10 points in this big story:
1. In Bengal over 73 lakh voters from five districts - all of Purulia and Jhargram, and parts of Bankura, West Medinipur and East Medinipur - will cast their votes, with around 10,200 booths set up. In Assam, around 81 lakh will vote across Upper Assam and parts of Central Assam, with over 11,000 booths set up.
2. Of the 30 seats in Bengal, the BJP is contesting 29; one has been given to the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU). The Trinamool will also contest 29 and support an independent candidate for the other seat. The Congress will contest only five seats. Its allies - the Left parties - will contest the majority; the CPM will fight 18 and the CPI 4.
3. In Assam, the BJP is contesting 39 of 47 seats in this phase and ally AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) 10. The two parties will go head-to-head in a "friendly contest" in two seats. The Congress - part of a `mahajot` (grand alliance) - will contest 43, with one each for the AIDUF of Badruddin Ajmal, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the AGM and the CPIML. A third option is the fledgling Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which was formed last year by the All Assam Students` Union and the Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad.
4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people in Assam and Bengal to go out in large numbers and cast their votes. "Urging those eligible to vote in record numbers. I particularly call upon my young friends to vote," PM Modi tweeted in his message for Assam. Similarly, he urged Bengal voters to "exercise their franchise in record numbers".
5. Jhargram, Medinipur, Patashpur and Ramnagar are among the big seats in Bengal in this phase, with Medinipur of particular interest because it is the home turf of Suvendu Adhikari - the ex-Trinamool MLA and close aide of Mamata Banerjee, whose defection to the BJP triggered a furious row with his former party. The Trinamool has fielded Bengali actor June Malia from this seat against the BJP`s Shamit Dash.
6. In Jhargram, the Trinamool has fielded Santhali actor - Birbaha Hansda - against Sukhmoy Satpati of the BJP. In Patashpur the Trinamool`s Uttam Barik will face Ambuj Mahanti. In Ramnagar the Trinamool`s Medinipur district chief, Akhil Giri is running against the BJP`s Ranjan Nayak.
7. In Assam, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is the biggest name on the ballot today, with state Congress chief Ripun Borah and Speaker Hitendranath Goswami. The Chief Minister will hope to retain his Majuli seat on the back of development work over the past five years. Mr Sonowal has not been confirmed as the BJP`s chief ministerial candidate. His opponent will be three-time former Congress MLA Rajib Lochan Pegu.
8. Outgoing Speaker Hitendranath Goswami will face former MLA Rana Goswami of the Congress in Jorhat, and Assam Congress chief Ripun Borah will face sitting BJP MLA Utpal Bora for Gohpur. Another big name on the ballots today is activist and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi, who is contesting as an Independent from Sibsagar because his party was not registered in time. Mr Gogoi, in jail for his alleged role in the 2019 anti-CAA protests, this week alleged torture while in custody.
9. Also voting is Titabor - the seat held for four successive terms by former Chief Minister and Congress veteran Tarun Gogoi, who died in November last year. One of the tallest leaders in the state, his seat will see the Congress`s Bhaskar Jyoti Barua and the BJP`s Hemanta Kalita fight it out.
10. The results of the Bengal and Assam elections, as well as that of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry, will be declared on May 2.
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