News Analysis India

Tag: Assam elections

  • Central observer for Assam polls tests positive for COVID-19

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: A central observer of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Assam polls has tested positive for COVID-19 after his arrival in Jorhat district, a senior official said on Wednesday.

    Jorhat Deputy Commissinoer Roshni Aparanji Korati said the ECI appointed general observer Manjeet Singh Brar tested positive on Tuesday on arrival in the district.

    “He is stable and under home isolation at one of his friend’s place. A medical team is monitoring his health parameters and there is nothing to worry,” she added.

    Brar reached Dibrugarh airport on Monday night from Punjab and then travelled to Jorhat by road Tuesday morning.

    Korati further informed that a new general observer has been appointed by the ECI in his place.

    The new observer coming from West Bengal is expected to reach Jorhat by evening.

    As per the ECI direction, all the officials coming from outside Northeast for conduct of election in Assam have to undergo coronavirus test in the reporting district.

    For general people, as per the standard operating procedure, everybody coming from outside northeast have to undergo mandatory COVID test at the Airport on arrival.

    The constituencies in Jorhat district are going to polls in the first phase on March 27.

  • Assam polls: After snub from party, ex-CM Mahanta decides not to enter the fray

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Denied ticket by his party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), two-time former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has decided against contesting the upcoming Assam elections, his wife and former MP Jayashree Goswami Mahanta said.

    “He has taken a decision not to contest the polls but he will keep working for the cause of regionalism,” she said. “He is hurt that the AGP leadership sold off regional sentiment to a national political party,” she added.

    The Bahrampur MLA Mahanta, 68, returned from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi last week after undergoing treatment.

    He has been serving as a legislator since 1985. In his Bahrampur seat in Central Assam, which he has been representing since 1991, the AGP is not contesting. The party offered the seat to ally BJP as part of their seat-sharing understanding.

    Apart from Mahanta, the AGP also denied tickets to MLAs Utpal Dutta (Lakhimpur), Naren Sonowal (Naharkatiya), and Satyabrata Kalita (Kamalpur). They are now weighing options.

    Last week, the leaders of AGP (Progressive) or AGP-P, which Mahanta had floated in 2005 protesting his expulsion by the AGP leadership but later merged with the parent party, met the veteran leader, triggering speculations that he might contest as its candidate.

    ALSO READ | Congress polarised Assam’s poll atmosphere by aligning with AIUDF: Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

    After falling out with the AGP leadership, some leaders had walked out of the party over a period of time and formed an organisation called Asom Sangrami Mancha. They are now trying to revive AGP-P and contest the elections.

    The AGP was born out of the six-year-long bloody Assam Agitation which ended with the signing of the historic Assam Accord in 1985 between the then Rajiv Gandhi government and the All Assam Students’ Union. Mahanta, AGP’s founder-president, got increasingly cornered in the party for his opposition to the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

    The Assam Accord says the immigrants, irrespective of their faith, who entered Assam after March 24 (midnight), 1971 have to detected and deported. But the CAA seeks to protect the non-Muslim immigrants who entered India till December 31, 2014. Mahanta could not accept it and he kept voicing his protest against it within and outside the AGP platform. His posture, however, only took him further away from the party leadership.

    The AGP first rose to power in 1985 riding on a strong anti-immigrant public sentiment. Then aged 33, Mahanta became the youngest CM. His second term (1996-2001) was marked by “secret killings”.

    It was a dark period in Assam’s history. Masked gunmen would swoop down on villages and kill the family members and relatives of rebels of the United Liberation Front of Asom or ULFA.

  • BJP not to announce CM face in Assam before polls, says state chief

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: BJP will not announce the chief ministerial candidate before the Assam polls and a decision in this regard will be taken by its Parliamentary Board at the time of forming the next government, the saffron party state unit president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said on Monday.

    Incumbent chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and influential minister and convenor of the North East Democratic Front (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma have also said the ultimate decision on selecting a person for the chief minister chair in the new government will be that of the party’s Parliamentary board.

    This is in contrary to the position in 2016, when BJP had projected the then union minister Sarbananda Sonowal as its chief ministerial face before the elections were held.

    “When there is no government, then the CM name is projected. When we are in government, then we do not project any name for the CM post,” Dass told PTI in an interview.

    He claimed that not a single BJP worker has asked this question about the name of chief ministerial candidate, and only the media is enquiring about it.

    “At the time of forming the government, the Parliamentary Board will take a decision on the issue,” Dass said without elaborating. Its not only the BJP-led coalition which is going to the state polls without a chief ministerial face, even the Congress-headed Grand Alliance has not projected anybody for the top post. When asked if he will be one of the prospects for the top position if the BJP-led alliance returns to power, Dass, who is former Assembly Speaker said, “I am not in the race.

    Why will I be there? I never spoke of myself in this regard.

    ” On the reports that many loyalists of the state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma got tickets, Dass accepted the murmuring, but said those close aides of Sarma have been working in the respective constituencies for the last two years.

    “Their names naturally cropped up in our survey ‘Janata Ki Awaz’. ..Even before projecting Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, the party spoke to 6. 4 lakh people across the country,” he added.

    When asked about BJP not projecting the chief ministerial face in Assam, Sonowal said it is up to the party and the parliamentary board will decide the name.

    On whether the top post will remain with a person from the Upper Assam or somewhere else, the chief minister said, “You should not raise this question. BJP is genuinely a democratic party and we firmly believe in peoples’ democracy. hat’s it.”

    Sonowal hails from Dibrugarh which is in upper Assam.

    Sarma’s native place is in Nalbari district which is in the lower Assam.

    Reacting to the issue of naming a person for the chief minister’s post, the NEDA convenor declined to make a direct comment and said the BJP central leadership has clarified about this in New Delhi.

    Asked specifically if he is ready to be the next chief minister from the BJP, Sarma said, “It is the prerogative of the parliamentary board to announce a candidate.

    It can be done tomorrow or day after tomorrow or post-election.

    “I think we should patiently wait for an announcement from Delhi. ” On the allegations about many of his loyalists getting tickets which hinted at him leading the next government, Sarma dismissed the speculation and said only the BJP loyalists have got ticket.

    “I think you should not divide our party on the basis of individuals. All people who got tickets are loyalists of Bharat Mata and loyalists of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.

    Going without its veteran leader Tarun Gogoi, who died recently, the Congress has formed a Grand Alliance with AIUDF, Bodoland People’s front, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) and Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM) for the state elections.

    The opposition camp has also not named its CM nominee in the event of them winning the election.

    The BJP has announced the first list of candidates for 70 seats, while left 26 and eight constituencies for its allies AGP and UPPL respectively.

    Of the total 126 seats in Assam Assembly, elections to 47 will be held on March 27, while 39 will go to polls on April 1 and voting in the remaining 40 seats will be held on April 6.

  • Kaun Banega Assam CM? Speculation galore as Himanta enters poll fray

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: As Assam readies for Assembly elections, the spotlight is back on the chief minister’s chair.

    Only time will tell if the BJP’s Central leaders will clear the haze on the perceived “dual leadership” but Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma being in the poll fray has triggered speculations on his as well as Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s future responsibilities.

    Earlier, Sarma had said at least twice that he would not contest the 2021 Assam elections which set tongues wagging that he was, possibly, eyeing a bigger role at the national theatre.

    The BJP, which heads Assam’s ruling coalition, is braving allegations from the Opposition that it is running on two engines or alternately without clear leadership.

    Recently, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel tried to exploit this perceived leadership tussle.

    “The Assam government is driven by two engines. One is pulling it in one direction while the other is pulling it in the opposite direction,” Baghel had said in Guwahati alluding to Sonowal and Sarma.

    Over the last 40 years, Assam never had a chief minister from Lower Assam albeit the stopover when Bhumidhar Barman served in that position for 22 days following the demise of the then chief minister Hiteswar Saikia ahead of the 1996 state elections.

    ALSO READ | ‘We are a 6,000-year-old civilisation’: Himanta bats for Hindu immigrants, slams CAA critics

    When a reporter on Monday asked Sonowal if it is a myth that one needs to be from Upper Assam or a non-Brahmin to be the Assam chief minister, he retorted: “I think you should not raise this question because BJP is genuinely a democratic party. And we firmly believe in people’s democracy.”

    Assam has so far seen 14 chief ministers. Most of them have been from the Assamese-majority Upper Assam. Sonowal is from Upper Assam while Sarma, a Brahmin, is from Lower Assam.

    During their recent rallies in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah did the balancing act by giving equal credit to Sonowal and Sarma for the state government’s various development initiatives.

    Ahead of the 2016 polls, Modi had named Sonowal for the top post. No such announcement has been made so far this election.

    There is a perception that either of them will be shifted to the Central ministry if the BJP retains power. Sarma has been serving as a minister for the past 20 years, 14 of them with the Congress. He had defected to the BJP in 2015 after falling out with his mentor and then chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

    A master election strategist who is widely known for his political acumen, Sarma was instrumental in scripting BJP’s victory in Assam and some other states in the Northeast.

    On the other hand, Sonowal, who has a clean image, earned the sobriquet of “Jatiya Nayak” (National Hero) after the Supreme Court, based on his PIL, had struck down the controversial Illegal Migrants (Determination Tribunal) Act in 2005. It was allegedly heavily tilted in favour of the immigrants.

    Prior to donning the chief minister’s mantle, he had served as the Union Sports Minister. He has a past in the regional Asom Gana Parishad. He joined the BJP in 2011.

  • BJP plays down dissidence in Assam as aspirants mull options

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The BJP trashed reports that denial of tickets to 11 MLAs and other aspirants has triggered dissidence in the party. Supporters of these MLAs, including a minister, and others have vented their ire in public. Some who missed the bus are mulling contesting polls as representatives of other parties or independents.

    The ruling party has played this down. “This happens in every election. Candidates are selected keeping in mind the best interest of the party and overall picture,” BJP’s Assam unit chief Ranjit Kumar Dass said on Sunday at a joint press conference with AGP and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL). The three parties are in an alliance.

    Dass claimed that people believe in BJP and AGP, as the state government has succeeded in all spheres in the past five years. BJP heads the coalition government which also had Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) as a constituent. BJP’s ties with BPF have soured and the saffron party has found a new ally in UPPL. BPF has joined hands with Congress and become part of a seven-party opposition alliance. 

  • Assam polls: BJP trashes reports of dissidence in party after 11 sitting MLAs denied tickets

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The BJP trashed reports that the denial of tickets to 11 MLAs and other aspirants triggered dissidence in the party.

    “This happens in every election. The candidates are selected keeping in mind the best interest of the party and overall picture,” BJP’s Assam unit chief Ranjit Kumar Dass told journalists on Sunday at a joint press conference with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL). The three parties are in an alliance.

    The supporters of the 11 BJP MLAs, including a Minister, and the aspirants have already vented their ire in public. Some missing the bus are mulling contesting the polls on the tickets of other parties or as independent candidates.

    Dass claimed that people believe in the BJP and the AGP as the state government succeeded in all spheres in the past five years. The BJP heads the state’s coalition government which also has AGP and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) as constituents.

    The BJP’s ties with the BPF have since soured and the saffron party has found a new ally in UPPL. The BPF too has joined hands with a Congress-led and seven-party grand alliance of Opposition. BPF and UPPL hold sway in four districts under the Bodoland Territorial Region that has 12 seats.

    Dass was confident the BJP-AGP-UPPL and the Rabha Joutha Mancha, a tribe-based organisation, would be able to grab 100 of the state’s 126 seats, a goal the alliance has set. In the 2016 elections, the BJP-AGP-BPF combine had won 86 seats (BJP-60, AGP-14 and BPF-12).

    AGP president Atul Bora said the coalition would contest the polls as a team where one would support the candidate of the other. Except in five seats where BJP and AGP will have friendly contest, they are fielding consensus candidates in the remaining seats.

    “Our workers will work for BJP and UPPL where AGP is not contesting and vice versa. We want to defeat this unholy alliance of Congress and AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front),” Bora said.

  • Ex-CM Mahanta’s traditional seat given to BJP considering ‘winning possibility’: AGP

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a constituent of the ruling BJP-led coalition in Assam, on Sunday said that Barhampur, the traditional seat of former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, was allotted to the saffron party this time considering his “winning possibility” from there.

    Mahanta, an MLA since 1985, won the Barhampur constituency in Nagaon district for six consecutive terms since 1991.

    The seat has now gone to the BJP which selected Jitu Goswami to contest the Assembly polls from there.

    “There is no conspiracy in giving Barhampur to the BJP. We considered the winning prospect of a seat. We have to see whether the NDA is going to win a seat or not,” AGP president Atul Bora said at a press conference here.

    When asked if Mahanta, the founder president of the AGP, is unlikely to win Barhampur this time, Bora said that the “decision was made after a discussion”.

    The AGP chief also refused to say whether Mahanta was taken into confidence before handing over the seat to the BJP.

    Asked if Mahanta’s open opposition to the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act was a reason he did not get the seat he is holding for three decades, Bora said, “That was not a factor. His health was one issue.”

    Following the announcement of the Barhampur seat going to the BJP, Mahanta’s followers staged protests and a process has gained momentum to revive the AGP-Progressive, a defunct breakaway faction of the AGP.

    Sources said that Mahanta has been in discussion with the Congress leadership in Guwahati over joining the opposition’s Grand Alliance led by the party.

    Besides Barhampur, the Lakhimpur seat where Mahanta’s confidante Utpal Dutta is MLA, and the Kamalpur constituency which was held by AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita, were also allotted to the BJP.

    The saffron party on March 5 released its first list of 70 candidates for the Assam assembly polls.

    The three-phased elections for the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

  • Congress moving at slow pace over several issues of Grand Alliance in Assam: AGP

    The AGM also announced the names of two candidates for constituencies going to polls in the first phase on March 27.

  • Assam polls: Congress fields new faces to regain lost turf

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Congress is betting on young leaders to regain the lost ground in Assam.Sixteen of its 40 candidates, whose names were announced on Saturday night for the first of three-phase Assembly elections, are fresh faces. The 40 seats have six sitting MLAs from the party and none was denied a ticket.Altogether 47 constituencies in Upper, Northern and Upper-Central Assam will go to polls in first phase. Upper and Northern Assam are Assamese majority regions that also have a large number of tea garden voters while Upper-Central Assam has a sizeable Muslim population.The Congress said it was giving equal importance to experience and exuberance.“Congress has always encouraged the younger generation, be it in organisation or electoral politics. India, being the largest democracy in the world, must be attractive to the younger generation and Congress fulfills and welcomes the aspirations of the youth,” party leader Bobeeta Sarma said.She continued: “At the same time, we need the guidance, support and blessings of the older and experienced leaders in the party and their contribution will always be revered.”The Upper, Northern and Upper-Central Assam regions used to be the Congress’s strongholds. The votes started shifting to the BJP since the 2014 Parliamentary elections when the country was swept away by the “Modi wave”. It continued till the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.The 40 Assembly seats in question lie in the five Parliamentary segments of Jorhat, Dibrugarh (Upper Assam), Lakhimpur, Tezpur (Northern Assam) and Kaliabor (Upper-Central Assam). The BJP and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) had fared better than the Congress in 35 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Only the Kaliabor Lok Sabha seat is currently held by the Congress. The others are with the BJP.The BJP had fared better than the Congress in eight of the 10 Assembly seats in Jorhat. Congress had a better performance in Titabor, which was represented by former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, and Sivasagar. The BJP’s vote share was 51.9% as against the Congress’s 44.1%.The BJP had also performed better than the Congress in all nine Assembly segments in Dibrugarh. The BJP’s vote share of 66.3% was way above the Congress’s 29.7%.Similarly in the Tezpur seat, the BJP had fared better than the Congress in all nine seats. The BJP’s vote share was 58.2% compared to Congress’s 37.6%.In the Lakhimpur seat, the BJP had performed better than the Congress in eight of the nine seats. The BJP’s vote share was 61.2% as against the Congress’s 33.6%.Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi had won the Kaliabor seat defeating the AGP’s Mani Madhav Mahanta, who was the consensus candidate of the BJP-led ruling coalition. Even in defeat, the AGP had fared better than the Congress in five of the 10 Assembly segments. The Congress’s vote share was 55.8% and the AGP’s 40.9%.GUWAHATI:

  • Assam elections: 18 all women polling stations in Sivasagar district

    By PTI
    SIVASAGAR: Assam’s Sivasagar district will have 18 all women polling stations in the upcoming state Assembly election, an official said.

    The Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer, Sivasagar through an order issued on Saturday has selected six all women polling stations each for three Assembly constituencies Amguri, Thowra and Sivasagar – going to the polls during the first phase of the election on March 27, the official said.

    In the all women polling station all the polling officials will be women.

    As per the order, the selected all women polling station for for Amguri constituency are Auniati Hemchandra Dev HS School (E), Auniati Hemchandra Dev HS School (W), Auniati Hemchandra Dev HS School (W)-A, Amguri Girls High School (N), Pengera MV School (N) and Pengera MV School (S).

    For Thowra constituency, the selected all women polling stations are Demow Town MV School (N), 102 No. Dihajan Kusiamari LP School (N), Nitaipukhuri High School (N), Nitaipukhuri High School (M), Nemuguri LP School and 98 No. Bam Gohain Gaon LP School.

    The all-women polling stations selected for Sivasagar constituency are 3 No Girls LP School (E), 2 No Town Primary School, 2 No Town Primary School-A, ONGC LP School (N), ONGC LP School (S) and ONGC LP School (M).

    Elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held in three phases on March 27, April one and April six.