Rain-marred campaigning for the second and final phase of elections for 61 of the remaining constituencies in Assam, which go to the polls on April 10 and will decide the fate of 496 candidates in the fray, ended in Guwahati Saturday.
Rains played spoilsport during the campaign trail in the second phase with almost all parties having to cancel various meetings and campaigning finishing on a lacklustre note.
Reports from the constituencies going to the polls, which are mostly in lower Assam, north bank of Brahmaputra and the hill disricts of Karbi Anglong and north Cachar, said candidates concentrated mainly on door-to-door campaigning at the end while some meetings were held in areas when rains stopped for brief periods.
Security is on high alert with additional security forces deployed in the sensitive areas and the Deputy Election Commisioner R Balakrishnan assuring that second phase of polls will be as safe as the first phase.
Polling this time in the state was marked by lack of violence by militant outfits for the first time in decades and the outfits also refrained from calling a poll boycott.
The prominent candidates in the fray are Asom Gana Parishad president Brindabon Goswami, former chief minister and AGP(P) president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Health Minister in the outgoing government Dr Bhumidhar Barman, Minister of State for Home Rockybul Hussain and Deputy Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai.
© 2024 Rediff.com -