News Analysis India

Tag: Assam polls

  • BJP counting on ‘positive votes’, outcome of government schemes to win Assam and Bengal

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Move over positive vibes! ‘Positive vote’ is the new buzzword in BJP. The saffron outfit is confident and saying that the people’s endorsements of the work done by the government at the Centre will translate into votes in the states where Assembly elections are held. 

    BJP boses are hoping that the party’s consolidation over ‘positive votes’ will get them an extended run in Assam and a new term in West Bengal after it helped them deliver a much better performance than senior alliance partner JD(U) in the recent Bihar elections.

    “BJP is no more looking at anti-incumbency votes in Bengal against Trinamool Congress. BJP had already bagged anti-incumbency votes there in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Now, it’s the positive vote that is coming to the aide of BJP in Bengal and Assam,” said a Union minister, who recently returned from electioneering in the two states.

    For BJP, ‘positive vote’ means people supporting the party candidate in the state elections due to the work done by the Central government, its welfare measures, and the appeal of PM Narendra Modi. 

    However, the BJP’s electioneering in Bengal has focussed more on highlighting the failure of the TMC government,  with thrust on syndicate, organised corruption, lack of development, non-implementation of Central schemes.

    “In Assam, development done by the NDA government along with the achievements of the Centre will help BJP gain a straight second mandate on the basis of positive votes. In Bengal, BJP has worked up the aspirations of the people to expect better things, due to party being in power at the Centre. That aspiration will get the positive vote for BJP,” said another Union minister, who has also been on election campaiging duty in Assam and Bengal. 

    Reflecting on Bengal, the minister claimed that TMC and BJP are pitched in a direct contest, with the Left and Congress failing to find space in people’s attention during the build-up to polling. But he says the party has to better its 2019 performance by several notches.

  • Three injured in firing by Assam Assembly Deputy Speaker’s bodyguards following clashes between BJP, AIUDF supporters

    By PTI
    SILCHAR: At least three persons were injured in firing by the bodyguards of Assam Assembly Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar on Thursday after clashes broke out between supporters of BJP and AIUDF.

    Cachar district Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli confirmed “an incident” and said the administration is waiting for a detailed report from the polling station at 463 Madhya Dhanehori LP School of Sonai constituency.

    “They are all non-critical,” she said when asked how many people were injured and their health status.

    When contacted the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam, Joint Chief Electoral Officer Rahul Chandra Das said they will be able to comment only after a detailed report is received from the Returning Officer.

    A huge contingent of police and central armed police forces have been deployed, while the district SP has rushed to the spot, officials said.

    According to the Dhanehori gaon panchayat president Lutfa Begum, public protested when Laskar entered the booth in late afternoon.

    “People alleged that he has tried to rig the voting. Many people rushed to the spot and confined Laskar in one room. Due to this the situation became tens. A clash broke out between supporters of Laskar and his opponent,” she added.

    Sitting MLA Laskar is having a direct contest with Karim Uddin Barbhuiya of the AIUDF at Sonai, where voting took place on Thursday in the second phase.

    “When a big crowd gathered and they tried to manhandle Laskar, his PSOs fired. In this, at least three persons were injured and they were admitted in hospitals,” Begum said.

    The wounded have been identified as Shamim Ahmed Choudhury, Baharul Islam and Kader Hussain, she added.

    Repeated calls made to IG (Law and Order)-cum-State Police Nodal Officer Deepak Kr Kedia and Cachar SP Bhanwar Lal Meena were disconnected.

    An estimated 72 per cent polling took place in Sonai, while Cachar saw a turnout of 72.28 per cent.

  • Second phase polls: 80.53 per cent turnout in Bengal, 73.03 per cent in Assam

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Assam recorded a voter turnout of 73.03 per cent on Thursday, while the figure stood at 80.53 per cent for West Bengal in the second phase of assembly polls in the two states.

    The Election Commission said these figures were till 5 pm.

    The second phase of polls in the two states was held peacefully across 21,212 polling stations spread over 69 assembly constituencies, it said.

    “The voter turnout reported by 5 pm from the 39 assembly constituencies of phase 2 in Assam is 73.03 per cent. The poll percentage reported from the 30 assembly constituencies of phase 2 in West Bengal is 80.43 per cent as of 5 pm,” the Commission said in a statement.

    It said the “non-functioning rate” of electronic voting machines during the poll is lesser than experienced in last few polls.

    It, however, did not explain the total number of machines replaced.

    During this phase, a total of 10620 ballot units, and an equal number of control units and VVPATs were used in West Bengal.

    In Assam, 10819 ballot units, 10592 control units and as many VVPATs were used.

    One control unit, at least one ballot unit and one VVPAT makes up for one EVM.

    During the ongoing elections till second phase, a record seizure of Rs.366.09 crore have been made from both the states.

    The seizure figure, which includes seizure of cash, liquor, narcotics and freebies, is more than six times higher than the total combined seizure of Rs 60.91 crore in assembly elections of 2016, the statement said.

    A total number of 1306 cases of Model Code of Conduct violations were reported through the cVIGIL app from Assam out of which 927 were disposed as of 4.30 pm.

    Similarly, 14499 cases were reported from West Bengal with 11630 disposed till 4.30 pm.

  • Will reach majority mark in Assam from results of first 2 phases: Congress

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: The Congress on Thursday claimed that the alliance led by it will reach the majority mark of 64 in the 126-member Assam Assembly from the results of the first two phases of the election as the people of the state have responded to its “positive campaign”.

    Addressing a press conference here, AICC spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said that the Congress-led Grand Alliance is on track to achieve its target of winning 101 seats in the elections.

    The Congress, which was in power for 15 years in Assam since 2001, has formed a Grand Alliance with the AIUDF, BPF, Left parties, the RJD and others to fight the Assembly election against the BJP-led NDA.

    “With nearly 80 per cent polling in the first phase, the Congress is sweeping Upper Assam. Also, the information we are getting today, we will cross the majority mark after the second phase itself,” Vallabh said.

    An estimated 79.97 per cent of voters in 47 seats exercised their franchise in the first phase on March 27, while the second phase of voting for 39 seats took place on Thursday.

    The third phase of the election for the remaining 40 seats will be held on April 6.

    Senior Congress leader Manish Tiwari, who was also present at the press conference, said, “The Congress has contested this election with a very positive campaign. The people of the state have responded to it very enthusiastically.”

    The people of Assam should be very careful about protecting the Constitutional privileges that the state and North East have got, he said.

    Tiwari said, “If the BJP comes to power again in Assam or (states of) Northeast, it is not far that Constitutional guarantees to this region like Articles 371B, and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution will also be curtailed.

    Article 371B deals with special provisions with respect to Assam.

    The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution provides for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to safeguard the rights of the tribal population in these states.

    He said that the BJP abrogated the Article 370 which was about special provisions for Jammu and Kashmir, and brought an Act which will curtail the powers of the elected government of Delhi.

    “Their (BJP’s) idea of India is different from those who created the Constitution. They don’t understand India. And they do not understand the border states of India,” the Congress MP said.

    The former union minister said that the Assam election is very important for its future and is Constitutional position in the Indian perspective.

    “The NDA brought the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. This law is totally unconstitutional. Religion cannot be the basis to determine citizenship. When the Supreme Court will hear this, I fully hope that the law’s unconstitutionality will be out,” he said.

    The objective of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is to grant Indian citizenship to people of minority communities Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who had come to India till December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in these countries.

    The state witnessed violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019 and five persons lost their lives.

    The protestors saw the law as a threat to their cultural identity and livelihood.

    Tiwari said that the Congress-led UPA brought 27 crore people out of the Below Poverty Line category during its 10- year rule at the Centre.

    “This was stated by current Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her last budget speech. On the other hand, 27 crore people have fallen in BPL category in the last seven years of the NDA,” he said.

    India’s economy grew at 7.8 per cent during the UPA’s 10 years, while this year’s GDP growth rate is minus 7.7 per cent, he added.

    “Communal harmony is essential for the development of any state. The BJP’s electoral model is religious polarisation between Hindus and Muslims. It is not attached to any religion, but only power,” he said.

  • Bodoland Peoples Front candidate joins BJP in the midst of polls in Assam

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) candidate Rangja Khungur Basumatary Thursday joined BJP ahead of the third phase of poll in Assam when the constituency in which he is a contestant is slated to go to the poll.

    Basumatary had reportedly gone missing for two days and at around midnight on Wednesday, senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma had tweeted that he had met the BPF candidate, who would join the saffron party.

    BPF is an ally of the opposition Congress in Assam, where two out of the slated three phased poll got over on Thursday.

    “Official candidate of BPF and so called Congress-led alliance from Tamulpur LAC (legislative assembly constituency), Sri Ram Das Basumatary met me a short while ago. He has expressed his desire to Join @BJP4India and retire from the election,” Sarma tweeted.

    Rangja Khungur Basumatary is also known as Ram Das Basumatary.

    Basumatary told a local TV channel that he had decided to resign from BPF as the party did not lend any helping hand to him during the campaign.

    Efforts made to contact him failed as his phone was switched off.

    A statement by the Congress confirmed that Basumatary has joined the BJP on Thursday.

    Tamulpur constituency is in Baksa district under Bodoland Territorial Region and will go to the poll during the third phase on April 6.

    Reacting to the development, Congress MP Manish Tiwari said that Basumatary had gone missing due to threatening by BJPN and lambasted the saffron party for it.

    Never in India did such immoral activities take place during elections – you (BJP) threatened to use the National Investigation Agency against the party and the candidate.

    “You(BJP) want to win the poll by wrong means. This is a fascist mentality and it is BJP’s education. That party does not believe in democracy and democratic systems. This is absolutely the worst spectare of fascism that is on display in the Assam polls,” he told a press conference here.

    Tiwari demanded that the BJP government in the state tell the people what had happened to Basumatary for two days.

    “I demand a detailed probe into the incident by Election Commission. How come such an incident took place in front of the EC? Is the EC blindfolded?” the Congress leader said.

    AICC spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said a Congress delegation will meet the EC Thursday evening to seek deferment of voting in Tamulpur constituency and disqualification of Sarma, a senior Assam minister, from contesting and further campaigning for the state poll as he is a “repeat offender” of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

    Vallabh questioned why the EC was not checking Basumatary’s call records to find his whereabouts.

    “We demand that the call records of Basumatary be made public so that the people of Assam get to know what coercion, intimidation or what proposal forced him to join hands with the BJP,” Vallabh said.

    Commenting on the EC notice to Sarma for allegedly threatening BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary with using the NIA against him, Tiwari said “The EC issued the notice because it is convinced that such threatening language is not acceptable.

    “The EC prima facie found him guilty. It is a conspiracy against the candidate. It is an attempt to subvert the election process. They (BJP) don’t believe in democracy and that is why they are resorting to such practice of threatening a candidate who is in the poll contest.

    Sarma had said that he had got evidence of Mohilary’s alleged links with the recent recoveries of arms in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and the case was being given to the NIA for investigation.

    Later the state Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta had reportedly said that there was evidence of militant and his group in the arms recovery.

    “We ask the Gujarati Mama (referring to Sarma’s allegiance to BJP and that he is popularly called ‘Mama’) when did that evidence come? If it came before the MCC came into force, then why were you silent? It means you were indulging in a criminal offence. If it came after the MCC came into force, then how and who gave the evidence to you because police now reports to the Election Commission.

    “Yesterday the DGP said that he has all the information. Is it a coincidence or deliberate? DGP Sir why are you not taking any action? Who has tied your hands? By making such statements, you are not strengthening the democracy, but weakening it,” Vallabh added.

  • Assam polls: EC slaps notice on Himanta for ‘threat’ remarks on Hagrama Mohilary

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Election Commission has served a notice on Assam Minister and BJP stalwart Himanta Biswa Sarma for allegedly threatening Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) chief Hagrama Mohilary.

    He has been asked to explain his position on or before 5 pm of April 2 failing which “the Commission will make a decision without any further reference to you”.

    Two days ago, the Congress, which is an ally of the BPF, had lodged a complaint with the Commission alleging that Sarma had intimidated the rebel leader-turned-politician Mohilary.

    ALSO READ | People have shown red card to Congress-AIUDF alliance: PM Modi in Assam

    “…Wherein it has been alleged that Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP leader, and Cabinet Minister has openly threatened Shri Hagrama Mohilary, Chairperson of Bodoland People’s Front and INC alliance partner of sending him to jail by misusing the Central Agency NIA, and whereas, the party further alleged that by the said threats, Sh. Sarma has also attempted to influence the voters to not vote for INC alliance, including Sh. Mohilary’s party.

    “Whereas the Commission has obtained full transcript of Sh. Biswa Sarma’s statement from Chief Electoral Officer, Assam and whereas, the Commission is, prima facie, of the view that Sh. Sarma has violated the above said provisions of the Model Code of Conduct. Now, therefore, the Commission gives you an opportunity to explain your position in making the…statement on or before 5 pm of 2nd April,” the notice reads.

    Sarma allegedly threatened to send Mohilary to jail if he is found to encourage MD Batha, who purportedly returned to the jungle a year after he had laid down weapons.

  • People have shown red card to Congress-AIUDF alliance: PM Modi in Assam

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday claimed the people in football-crazy Assam had shown the red card to the “Mahajot” in the first two phases of Assembly elections.

    “The whole of India knows football is very popular among the youth here. Given the sense I am getting after the two phases of polls, I tell you in their words, the people have shown the red card to Congress-AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front),” Modi said at a rally in Kokrajhar while campaigning for the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) candidate.

    The UPPL as well as Asom Gana Parishad is an ally of the BJP. The Congress leads the ten-party grand alliance that also has the AIUDF.

    “People’s trust is in the NDA. The Mahajot will come and tell you about big things but the people of Assam have to be wary of them,” Modi said.

    He said this election is between the “Mahajuth” of “Mahajot” and the “Maha Vikash” of the double engine.

    “The Congress instigated people from the valleys and the hills and made them fight. The NDA united them through the bridge of development. The Congress is responsible for the encroachment of land in satras and namghars (Vaishnavite prayer centres). The NDA freed them,” the PM said.

    ALSO READ | Assam Congress MLAs will not leave party post-election, says Gehlot

    He said the NDA had made an honest attempt to take the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) to the path of peace and development.

    “The Congress’ long tenure in power had pushed Assam to bombs, guns, and blockades. The NDA ensured peace and respect. Remember, it was Atalji’s (former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee) NDA government that gave the BTC (Bodoland Territorial Council) to you. Even the present NDA government signed the BTR agreement for permanent peace in Bodoland,” Modi said.

    Stating that peace has returned to Assam after a long time, he said the NDA was committed to helping those “friends” who had abjured the path of violence. He appealed to those still wielding the gun to join the NDA’s mission for peace and progress.

    “We all know how the Congress’ misgovernance allowed Kokrajhar to suffer for years. The people have not forgotten that run of violence. The then Congress governments in the state and at the Centre silently watched the tamasha. They are now trying to deceive Bodoland again,” Modi said.

  • Assam polls: Women turn out in large numbers in morning hours, overall situation peaceful

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Long queues were seen outside most of the booths as women stepped out in large numbers during the early hours of polling at 39 seats in the second phase of the assembly elections in Assam.

    Though there were reports of EVM glitches from some polling stations, the exact figure was yet to be ascertained, an official said.

    An estimated 10.51 per cent of the total 73,44,631 electorate exercised their franchise till 9 am, they said.

    The elections started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

    At most of the places, people were seen following COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing masks and maintaining social distance.

    Sanitisers were made available at all the booths, while temperatures were being checked with thermal scanners.

    The fate of 345 candidates, including five ministers and the deputy speaker, is being decided in this phase.

    The constituencies are spread over 13 districts in Barak Valley, the Hill districts and parts of central and lower Assam.

    No untoward incident was reported and the overall situation was peaceful, officials said.

    Several constituencies received heavy overnight showers but the weather cleared in the morning, helping record the significant turnout in the initial hours, they said.

    Rains and thunderstorms are common here before the Rongali Bihu festival, which is a fortnight away.

    In many of the 117 model polling stations, the first voters were greeted with ‘gamosas’, and in some with saplings.

  • Assam Congress MLAs will not leave party post-election, says Gehlot

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday asserted that Congress MLAs will not leave the party after the assembly polls, as the people of the state have seen the BJP-led government’s “misrule” for five years.

    Geholt, whose government was on the brink of collapse last year due to a rebellion by a section of Congress MLAs allegedly at the instigation of the saffron party, claimed at a press conference that the election results of Assam and West Bengal will give “a jerk to the BJP and its fascist ideology”.

    “You know what happened in Rajasthan. By God’s grace, we survived. The BJP has become the world’s richest party. They have introduced electoral bonds and 90 per cent of the money is going to the BJP,” he said.

    Asked if the Congress will be able to retain all its MLAs after the election, Gehlot said that all its elected representatives will stay in the party as the people of the state have seen the “misrule” of the saffron party-led government in Assam.

    The Congress government in Rajasthan had faced a crisis in July last year after a rebellion by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress MLAs against Gehlot’s leadership.

    The Congress had accused the BJP leaders including Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of trying to topple the government by horse-trading.

    He also alleged that the BJP has formed governments in Manipur, Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh in recent years by way “cheating”.

    The saffron party will not form government in any of the four states Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu – and the Union Territory of Puducherry where assembly election is being held, the Congress leader asserted.

    “In West Bengal, the BJP will not be able to come to power and the Congress will be forming the government in Assam. The results of these two states will give a jerk to the BJP and its fascist ideology,” Gehlot said.

    He alleged that independent bodies such as the judiciary, CBI, ED, IT and the ECI are pressured by the ruling party to work in its favour and it’s a “threat” to democracy.

    “The RSS and BJP (leaders) are all fascist people. They are just wearing the mask of democracy. The BJP is totally exposed and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s (popularity) graph is going down,” the Congress leader said.

    “Journalists, activists and lawyers are in jail. Nobody feels it safe to talk on the phone and everybody is making calls using WhatsApp and Signal. Why?” said, indicating that phones of a section of the people are being tapped.

    Without naming senior Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress general secretary Jitendra Singh who is also present at the press conference, claimed that his dream of becoming a chief minister in a BJP government will not be fulfilled.

    “What happened to the person who was all dressed up to take oath as the BJP CM? He won’t be a CM in the BJP. His dream of becoming a CM in BJP will never be fulfilled. All of you know whom I am talking about,” Singh said.

    The BJP has not announced its chief ministerial candidate before the Assam polls.

    The Congress has been claiming that the state currently has “two chief ministers”, in an apparent reference to rumours of senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal acting as rival power centres.

    Sarma left the Congress to join the BJP in 2015.

    AICC spokesperson Gourav Vallabh claimed that Assam did not do well during the five years of the BJP rule.

    Assam’s rank in Business Reform Action Plan Results 2019 is 20th out of all Indian states and Union Territories despite the BJP boasting about the Assam Ease of Doing Business Act, 2016, he claimed.

    “On the Ease of Doing Business portal, 35,000 applications were received and there was a backlog of 20,000 applications. The government did not have the will to industrialise Assam. Instead, they are selling all the PSUs here,” he said.

    Of the total FDI received between October 2019 and December 2020 in the country, Assam accounts for just 0.01 per cent of it, Vallabh claimed.

    “The number of MSME units and investments coming in have been on a constant decline. In 2016-17, 2,277 units were set up with Rs 606 crore investment. It declined to 1,123 new units in 2018-19 with Rs 200 crore investment,” he added.

  • Assam breaks all records in poll seizures, items worth over Rs 110 crore confiscated so far

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam broke all previous records in seizures of cash, liquor, drug and other goods after the assembly polls were notified with several agencies confiscating items worth over Rs 110 crore, Chief Electoral Officer of Assam Nitin Khade said on Wednesday.

    During the 2016 state polls, central and state agencies had seized goods worth less than Rs 20 crore.

    Addressing a press conference, Khade said, “After the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force on February 26 in view of the Assam assembly elections, cash and other valuables worth Rs 110.83 crore have been seized till date.

    “Till now, seizures of drugs and narcotics worth Rs 34.29 crore, over 16.61 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 33.44 crore, cash amounting to Rs 24.50 crore along with gold, silver jewelleries and gold bars worth Rs 3.68 crore have been made.”

    The items were seized from different parts of the state during search operations carried out by Assam Police, flying squads, static surveillance team, excise, and other enforcement and regulatory agencies, he said.

    Freebies and other items like cigarettes of foreign origin, poppy seeds, black pepper, areca nuts, pan masala worth Rs 14.91 crore have also been confiscated, Kharda said.

    “So far, 50 FIRs have been registered across the state related to expenditure violation and 5,234 FIRs lodged in connection with violation of excise rules,” the CEO said.

    However, he did not share the number of persons who were detained and arrested in connection with the FIRs.

    Regarding MCC violations, Khade said, “A total of 2,696 cases have been registered. Out of these, 1,272 cases have been registered online through cVigil app of which 908 cases have been found to be correct.”

    After the polls were notified on February 26, all constituencies in Assam formed a minimum of three Static Surveillance Teams (SST) and Flying Squads (FS) each, with some even having six such teams.

    “We have a minimum of 756 teams working across the state.

    The seizures by all state and central agencies along with SST and FS have crossed all figures of last elections,” an official of the Election department said.

    Various regulatory agencies like Excise, Police, DRI, NCB, SLBC (SBI), Income Tax, RPF, CISF, CGST, SSB and BSF are engaged in enforcing MCC across the state and carrying out search operations and seizures.

    While the first phase of elections was held on March 27, polling for 39 seats will be held in the second phase on April 1, and 40 in the third and final phase on April 6.

    Talking about the second phase of polling on Thursday, Khade said, “We are fully prepared for it. Dispatch of polling and police officials began from yesterday.”

    In all, 345 candidates, including 26 women, are in the fray in this phase, the polling for which will be held from 7 am to 6 pm amid heavy security and strict COVID-19 guidelines.