Dhubri (Assam) [India], April 29 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) showed its strength with a huge election rally on Monday at Birsingh Block I in Assam's Dhubri district. Birsingh Block I is the home turf of Congress leader and lower Assam's South Shalmara MLA Wazed Ali Chowdhury.
Mentionable, for the first time, the BJP held an election rally in Birsingh, a minority-dominated area that lies at the Indo-Bangladesh border. Assam Cabinet Minister Ranjit Kumar Dass campaigned for Jabed Islam, the NDA candidate from Asom Gano Parishad (AGP).
The BJP is contesting in 11 out of 14 seats in Assam, while its ally parties, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), are contesting in two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri) and UPPL in one seat (Kokrajhar), respectively.
After the rally, Minister Das told ANI that the NDA would win all four seats in the third phase of the polls, which is scheduled on May 7.
In the third phase of the election, the NDA candidates are going to get a large chunk of minority votes in Kokrajhar and Barpeta Loko Sabha seats, he also claimed.
Polling has already concluded in 10 out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam in the first two phases. In the third phase, polling will held in the four remaining seats in the state- Guwahati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Dhubri.
Forty-seven candidates are in the fray in the third phase of polls and more than 81 lakh voters will exercise their franchise.
In 2014, the BJP secured seven of the 14 seats in Assam. Both the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) won three seats each. In the 2019 elections, the BJP increased its seat count to nine, while the Congress won just three seats, and the AIUDF a single seat.
Voting for the second phase took place on Friday across 88 Lok Sabha constituencies, including all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, six in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one each in Tripura, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.
The first phase of voting for the seven-phased Lok Sabha election was held on April 19 in 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs, with over 62 per cent voter turnout. The counting of votes for all seven phases of Lok Sabha polls will be held on June 4, 2024.