Stage set for second phase of LS polls in Assam, 61 in fray

Guwahati: Assam is all set to witness a triangular and a direct contest for the second of the three-phased polls in five constituencies to decide the fate of 61 candidates in the fray on Friday.

Polling will begin at 7 am and end at 5 pm in the five constituencies - Karimganj, Silchar (SC), Diphu (ST), Nagaon and Darrang-Udalguri.

The prominent candidates in the fray are sitting MPs Pradyut Bordoloi of Congress from Nagaon, BJP's Dilip Saikia and Kripanath Malla from Darrang-Udalguri and Karimganj, respectively, and Assam minister Parimal Suklabaidya of BJP from Silchar (SC), among others.

A total of 77.26 lakh voters - 38.95 lakh male, 38.61 lakh female and 179 third gender - are eligible to exercise their franchise across 9,133 polling stations.

Polling will be held amid tight security, with 60 companies of security forces deployed across the five constituencies.

The BJP and the Congress are contesting in all five seats, the AIUDF in two and the Trinamool Congress in one.

In this phase, only two women candidates are in the fray.

Karimganj constituency, bordering Bangladesh, has the highest number of 24 candidates, with 19 independents, while Diphu (ST) is the lowest with five candidates in the fray.

In Karimganj, a triangular contest is on the cards among sitting BJP MP Kripanath Malla, Hafez Rashid Choudhury of Congress and AIUDF's Sahibul Alam Choudhury.

Eight candidates are in the fray in Silchar, and the contest is likely to be triangular between Assam minister Parimal Suklabaidya of BJP, Surya Kanta Sarkar of Congress and Radheyshyam Biswas of Trinamool Congress.

Five contestants are in the fray in Diphu (ST), and the contest is likely to be between BJP's Amarsing Tisso and Joyram Engleng of Congress.

A total of 13 candidates are in the fray in Nagaon, and the contest is set to be triangular between sitting Congress MP Prodyut Bordoloi, BJP's Suresh Bora and AIUDF's Aminul Islam.

In Darrang-Udalguri, 11 candidates are contesting, with the contest likely to be direct between sitting BJP MP Dilip Saikia and Congress candidate Madhab Rajbongshi. The Bodo Peoples' Front candidate Durga Das Boro is also expected to put up a good fight.

Assam Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel said all arrangements have been completed for conducting the polls in a free, fair and peaceful manner.

In the first phase of polls held on April 19, 78.25 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise to decide the fate of 35 candidates for the Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur constituencies.