Polling for phase 2 Assam assembly election concludes with 80.83% voter turnout

The second round of
voting for the 126-member Assam assembly concluded on Thursday. A total of
39 assembly seats went to the polls in this phase, in which over 73 lakh
voters will decide the fate of 345 candidates. Voting started at 7 am and ended at 6 pm. A voter turnout of 80.83% was recorded on Thursday, according to data from the Election Commission of India.

The EC said that 73.45 lakh voters exercised their right in the 39 seats in the second phase of state assembly elections. 

Also Read | Five ministers, deputy speaker in fray as Assam goes to polls in phase 2

The 39 constituencies
include 15 from the Barek Valley, which consists of the districts of Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi districts, with the rest
from East Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao, Hojai, Nagaon and
Morigaon districts and other parts of south Assam.

In the 2016 polls, the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 22 of these 39 constituencies. The BJP’s
alliance partner Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) won two seats, while the Congress and
its ally, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), won six and five seats
each.

Also Read | From student to Assam CM, Sarbananda Sonowal walked a tightrope

Former BJP ally Bodoland
People’s Front (BPF), now a partner of the Congress-led ‘Mahajot’ or ‘Grand
Alliance’ of six parties, won four seats in 2016. The alliance also includes
the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and the Anchalik Gana Marcha
(AGM).

The ruling BJP is
contesting from 34 seats, while its partners AGP and United People’s Party
Liberal (UPPL) will field candidates from six and three seats respectively. The
BJP and AGP will have “friendly contests” in Patharkandi and Algapur
constituencies, while a similar faceoff, between the BJP and the ULLP, will be
seen in Majbat and Kalaigaon.

Also Read | Election fever: How BJP and Congress are wooing the voters in Assam

Meanwhile, the Congress
is contesting from 28 constituencies, the AIUDF from seven and the BPF from
four. The newly-formed Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which is in alliance with
jailed activist Akhil Gogoi‘s Raijor Dal, will contest from 19 seats.

25 constituencies have a
direct contest between the NDA and the Grand Alliance, while there are
triangular fights in the rest.

Among the candidates are
five ministers and the assembly’s deputy speaker, apart from key opposition
leaders.

Voting for 47
constituencies was held in the first phase on March 28, while the remaining 40
assemblies will go to the polls on April 6.