In Assam, voting for the third phase will take place on May 7 in four Lok Sabha constituencies – Barpeta, Dhubri, Guwahati, and Kokrajhar. This is for all 14 parliamentary seats in the state. Voting took place in the first two phases for ten seats in Assam on April 19 and April 26.
These four seats are crucial for both the BJP and the Congress. While BJP will try to maximize its seat count in the state as part of its goal of reaching 400 seats nationally, Congress, on the other hand, is aiming for as many seats as possible, especially when the party’s state unit is in disarray.
In the previous elections, BJP won in Guwahati, while Congress claimed victory in Barpeta. Dhubri is a stronghold of the AIUDF, and Kokrajhar was won by independent MP Naba Sarania. It is hoped that BJP and AIUDF will retain their grip on Guwahati and Dhubri again. However, there is tough competition between AIUDF and Congress in Dhubri.
A few Dhubri-based Congress leaders have expressed their displeasure at the nomination of “outsider” Rakibul Hussain, whose native district is Nagaon. Hussain served as a minister in the state’s late Tarun Gogoi-led Congress administration.
Voters strongly support Phanibhushan Choudhury, the AGP’s nominee and BJP ally. Choudhury is an eight-time MLA from Bongaigaon in lower Assam with a spotless record. The contest will take place in Kokrajhar, western Assam, between BJP’s other ally, UPPL, and the opposition Bodoland People’s Front.
The returning officer had already denied incumbent MP Naba Sarania of Kokrajhar, stating that his Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate was deemed to be void.
Now that Sarania is out of the race, the BJP’s ally, UPPL, is seen as a serious contender in the Kokrajhar seat. The Lok Sabha segment of Dhubri, which is one of the AIUDF’s strongest seats, is expected to remain in the hands of the party once again. This is the third time the party has been able to retain this seat.
Muslims play a crucial role in this election. According to the 2011 census, the population of Dhubri district is made up of around 80% Muslims. Badruddin Ajmal, the leader of AIDUF, declared during his election campaign that he will reopen 750 madrasas across Assam after the party wins the Lok Sabha election.
He also accused the Congress of being the ‘B team’ of BJP and went on to say that the Congress has been torturing the Muslims for the past 70 years. All four seats going to polls in the 3rd phase have a large Muslim population and BJP is particularly targeting them this time. BJP, which is keen to increase its vote-getting power in the State, is facing an uphill battle with minority voters playing a crucial role. AIUDF, on the other hand, will benefit from the fact that the Congress and BJP are both fighting for minority votes.
The Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma stepped up his outreach efforts and kept repeating on his campaign trail every day that the Prime Minister’s government of India has treated all castes and tribes equally and all the government’s schemes and programs have reached out to all communities including Muslims.
On April 19, the Chief Minister addressed a public rally in Dhing, Nagaon, where it is estimated that Muslim voters are more than 80%. The rally was attended by thousands of members of the community who came to listen to Sarma. In all the election rallies since then, the presence of minority voters has been increasing manifold.
Chief Minister Sarma is confident that a considerable number of Muslim votes will support the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha election in Assam. BJP is competing in 11 out of 14 seats, with its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) contesting in two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri) and UPPL in one seat (Kokrajhar).
