PHULBARI (Meghalaya): The dusty town of Phulbari, bordering Assam's Dhubri district and barely 35 km from the India-Bangladesh border, is all set to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.The Muslim-majority constituency, more than 500 km from state capital Shillong, has 25,600 voters - of which 12,000 are Muslim, 8,500 are Garo and the rest, 5,600, are Hindu voters (Bengalis, Hajongs and Rabhas). While a major commercial centre of the West Garo Hills district, Phulbari still has bad roads, poor education and health facilities, besides other communication and connectivity bottlenecks. Phulbari does not have a college yet and students have to take either the 30-km road to Tikrikilla or travel 18 km to Bhatbari to attend colleges.As the constituency seethes with anti-incumbency against Congress MLA and speaker in the assembly Abu Taher Mondal, who is seeking a third term from the seat, BJP hopes to cash in on the growing discontent. Banking on NPP to cut into Congress's Muslim voter base, BJP hopes the division of votes will work in its favour. "You will be surprised with BJP's performance in Phulbari. The wave is in our favour now," Nalin Kohli, in charge of BJP in Meghalaya, said. Assam minister and convener of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance Himanta Biswa Sarma was also confident that BJP will be strong enough to help Meghalaya's government formation.BJP candidate Binoy Ghosh 's campaign in-charge Jiban Krishna Ghosh said the saffron party's vote share in Phulbari has been increasing with every successive election, since BJP started out in Meghalaya in the early 1990s. "In almost every election, BJP has fielded candidates in Phulbari. With every election, we have consolidated our support base," Ghosh added.NPP, however, does not agree. "NPP has emerged as the alternative to Congress in Phulbari. We have the support of a majority of Muslim voters as well as among other ethnic groups. Our chances are high," NPP candidate Esmatur Mominin said.Congress also claims that it is well-placed in Phulbari. "People are aware of the peace and stability the Mukul Sangma government brought them. These are prerequisites for progress, which is why people will vote Congress to power next term," a Congress leader here said.

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