Phase 3 of Lok Sabha elections in Assam to determine fate of 47 candidates

GUWAHATI: The third phase of Lok Sabha elections in Assam is set to determine the political fate of 47 candidates vying for victory in four crucial constituencies.

Scheduled for Tuesday (May 06), polling will commence at 7 am and conclude at 5 pm.

Elections will be held at Kokrajhar (ST), Dhubri, Barpeta and Guwahati Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam on Tuesday (May 06).

All eyes are on the prestigious Guwahati seat, where both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have fielded female candidates - Bijuli Kalita Medhi and Mira Borthakur Goswami, respectively.

Among the other prominent contenders are AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, seeking re-election for the fourth consecutive term from Dhubri, Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain, eight-time Asom Gana Parishad legislator Phanibhushan Choudhury and CPI-M MLA Manoranjan Talukdar.

Barpeta boasts the highest number of candidates at 14, while Guwahati has the lowest with eight candidates in the fray.

Notably, six women are contesting in the final phase.

The BJP has fielded only one candidate in this phase for the Guwahati seat, with its alliance partners AGP contesting in two constituencies - Dhubri and Barpeta, and the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) in Kokrajhar.

Also read: Assam authorities ‘unlawfully’ cleared land for Silchar Greenfield airport: SC

Apart from the Congress and the Voters Party International (VPI), other parties contesting in all four seats include the Bodoland People's Front (BPF), the Trinamool Congress, Bharatiya Gana Parishad, Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), and the Republican Party of India (Athawale).

Additionally, several other parties and independent candidates are participating in individual seats.

The total electorate comprises 82.11 lakh voters, including 41.27 lakh men, 40.84 lakh women, and 112 belonging to the third gender, spread across 9516 polling stations.

Tight security arrangements have been put in place, with 60 companies of security forces deployed across the constituencies to ensure a safe and peaceful polling process.

In Guwahati, a direct contest is expected between BJP's Bijuli Kalita Medhi and Congress candidate Mira Borthakur Goswami.

Similarly, Barpeta is anticipated to witness a triangular contest among NDA partner Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Phanibhushan Choudhury, CPI-M's Manoranjan Talukdar, and Deep Bayan of the Congress.

Dhubri will witness a triangular contest with AIUDF's Badruddin Ajmal, Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain, and NDA partner AGP's Zaved Islam in the fray.

In Kokrajhar (ST), a triangular contest is also expected among UPPL's Jayanta Basumtary, Congress' Garjen Mushahary, and BPF's Kampa Borgoyary.

Assam Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel has assured that all arrangements have been completed for conducting the polls in a free, fair, safe, and peaceful manner.