Campaign for first phase polls end in Assam

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The high-voltage campaign for 62 Assembly constituencies in Assam going to the polls in the first phase on April 4 ended here on Saturday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing two rallies.

The campaign was high pitched on the last day despite a bandh call given by the Paresh Barua-led anti-talk faction of ULFA to protest the Prime Minister's visit, bad weather in some areas and the World Cup cricket final with candidates making hectic last minute efforts to woo the voters in the constituencies spread over 13 districts.

An electorate of 85,09,011, comprising 43,91,895 males and 41,17,116 females will decide the fate of 485 candidates (447 males and 38 female) including Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

A triangular contest between the ruling Congress, BJP and AGP is likely in most constituencies which include15 in the Barak Valley, five in the two hill districts of Karbi

Anglong and North Cachar Hills district, eight in Sonitpur and the remaining 34 in Upper Assam districts of Dhemaji, Golaghat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Lakhimpur and Jorhat.

The ruling Congress though burdened with an anti-incumbency factor is expecting to enter the Assembly for the third consecutive term with the Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee among others batting for Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's achievements during the last 10 years.

The BJP, in particular, put in an aggressive campaign with almost all senior national leaders including former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, party president Nitin Gadkari, Leaders of Opposition in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, former party President M Venkaiah Naidu, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda.

The AGP's campaign was muted with Party President Chandramohan Patowary and former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta pitching in for candidates in the party strongholds.

The BJP brought in the glamour quotient with Bollywood stars Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha and television star Smriti Irani campaigning in different constituencies while the Congress had only Raj Babbar to canvass for the party.