Assam is all set for the second and final phase of Lok Sabha voting on Thursday in 11 of the 14 Parliamentary constituencies. According to information, polling officials along with materials have already reached their respective polling centres. Elections are set to be held in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kaliabor, Nagaon, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, Guwahati, Mangaldoi, Barpeta, Dhubri and Kokrajhar.
The state went to the first phase of polling in three seats...Silchar, Karimganj and Autonomous District in Assam April 16 with heavy polling recorded. An estimated 14.73 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the second phase in which 121 candidates are in the fray. The ruling Congress party is locked in a direct fight with the opposition combine of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while for at least two seats it would be a triangular contest with the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF) also emerging as a political force to be reckoned with.
The BJP has renominated one out of its two sitting MPs with Rajen Gohain contesting from Nagaon while its other MP Narayan Borkotoky from Mangaldoi is not contesting but its state unit president Ramen Deka is making a bid to retain the seat for the party. The AGP, on the other hand, has renominated both its sitting mps--Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh and Dr Arun Sarmah from Lakhimpur. BJP's Kokrajhar candidate S K Swismuthiary is seeking a fourth term in Parliament and had contested the 2004 polls as an Independent.
The Congress has also given tickets to three former MPs who contested the last polls but lost--Paban Singh Ghatowar from Dibrugarh, Ranee Narah from Lakhimpur and Madhab Rajbongshi from Mangaldoi. BJP's Bijoya Chakravorty, who had won the 1999 polls and went on to become a union minister but was denied a ticket in 2004 in favour of Assam's cultural icon Dr Bhupen Hazarika, has been given the ticket for the prestigious Gauhati seat.
Two former Rajya Sabha MPs--U G Brahma of Bodoland Peoples' Progressive forum (BPPF) and Dhrupad Borgohain (cpi)- are contesting from Kokrajhar and Jorhat parliamentary seats. AUDF President Badruddin Ajmal, sitting MLA from south Salmara in Dhubri, and his brother Sirajuddin Ajmal, MLA from Jamunamukh and Nagaon, are contesting from two seats each. The party president is contesting from Dhubri and Silchar, which went to polls in the first phase while his brother is contesting from Nagaon and Kaliabor. CPI's Dhrupad Borgohain, sitting MLA from Nazira, is contesting from Jorhat and Congress's captain Robin Bordoloi, sitting MLA from Gauhati (east), is the party candidate for Gauhati parliamentary seat.
Hardly a week after his patch-up with chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma is desperately trying to refurbish his image with a slew of measures to jack up the ruling party.Dr Sarma who along with Anjan Dutta met Gogoi at his Koinadhara residence on Wednesday morning told reporters that he had suggested some measures which he thinks would help the party retain power in Dispur. The chief minister is understood to have heard Dr Sarma patiently and assured him of the steps to implement the suggestions. Notably, Assam Times broke the story of how the duo mended the differences at the initiative of a senior Guwahati based journalist a couple of days back. The former...
A Guwahati based organization takes on Chief minister and APSC alleging bribe in the examination held to select the candidates for ACS, APS and allied services. The officials of the Peoples'Welfare Forum lodged an FIR at Basistha police station against chief minister Tarun Gogoi and APSC chairman Rakesh Paul charging the duo to have taken bribe from a section of candidates to ensure their success in the competitive examination. Gogoi on Friday said that RTI is available to get the doubts cleared. The organization staged dharna in front of APSC office premises on Saturday raising bribery allegations.
The enforcement directorate probing Sudipto Sen's financial transaction will grill Anjan Dutta again to ascertain his role in the multi crore scam. ED has asked the MLA and APCC president to appear in the Kolkata based office on Monday. Earlier on Thursday he was grilled before collecting his banking details from Chandmari and Dispur SBI branches. The interrogation is crucial this time as Dutta would have to establish his purely business deal with the Sharadha boss.
A vigil security has been beefed up in BTAD region during counting of votes tomorrow and victory rally has also been banned after declaration of results to prevent unwanted incidents in Kokrajhar.Thaneswar Malakar,Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar addressing the media persons at DC office conference hall today said that the district administration has geared up to maintain peace and harmony during counting of votes with deployment of security arrangements.He said that district administration ahs imposed 144 crpc in view of maitaining law and order in the district and totally restricted victory rally and any procession after declaration of results till April 15 in the district.He said that the...
Dozens of sitting Congress MLAs are likley to stay out of the poll contest early next year. The ruling party is unlikely to field them again. But the party leadership are trying to call it their reluctance.Sources told Assam Times that these include Sarat Bortkotoky, Dr Bhumidhar Barman, Abdul Muhib Majumdar, Pranab Gogoi and Rameshwar Dhanowar. The fate of chief minister Tarun Gogoi depends on the party high command.When the secret decision went open secret, APCC president Anjan Dutta told reporters on Tuesday that around 7 MLAs are reluctant to contest in the elections next year.
If spring comes can the Bohag Bihu stay far behind? Here comes the Bihu. Tender leaves on the trees, season flowers in full bloom, chirping of birds seem to have dressed the entire state afresh. Armed with traditional dhul, pepa, gogona and flute, the youths are busy with rehearsal for bihu huchori. The girls in the rural areas are busy with weaving bihuwans for their near and dear ones. The women in these areas are concentrating on delicacies to be served on the much vaunted occasion.Huge pandels are seen in the urban areas hardly two weeks before the festival of merrymaking. Organizers are making beeline on the doors of the performing artists seeking engagements on the occasion.The...
Nearly hundred media persons with their spouses joined in a Hepatitis B vaccination camp organized by Dispur Hospital in Guwahati Press Club on 5 April 2015. The camp started at 11 am and continued for more than one hour.Mr Ujjal Saikia, the public relation officer of Dispur Hospitals Pvt Ltd, Ganeshguri, Guwahati led the vaccination team comprising of Haren Das with staff nurses namely Anjali Bhuyan, Tina Devi, Jesmin Sultana and Bisaya Devi. The second dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine will be given on 5 May 2015 in the press club (within 11 am to 12 noon), which is necessary for completion of the vaccination process.Caused by the hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis B is an infectious disease that...
Adoor Gopalakrishnan stressed need to uplift the Assamese cinema sector with more investment. Talking to the reporters at a function organized to honour at the Guwahati Press Club on Monday, the veteran film maker said the government must come forward with good financial assistance to revive the infrastructure.The Dadasaheb Phalke award winning filmmaker said that television has not lived up to the expectation and that it only is interested in commercial cinema.
For the first time Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU) is hosting a meeting of Vice Chancellors and/or their representatives, Friday 27 March. Over 70 Vice Chancellors or representatives from West Bengal and Northeast India are participating in the meeting organised by NEHU (North Eastern Hill University) at ADBU Azara campus. Joining the meeting at the same venue are also some 100 Directors of AICTE approved technical institutions with experts from University Grants Commission and AICTE.The participants are deliberating upon issues related to the implementation of Choice Based Credit System and credit framework for skill-based vocational courses to be implemented in the upcoming...
How clean and truthful is Siddharth Bhattacharya? One after another white lies seem to have exposed the real face of the state BJP president. This time he is facing flak from the AASU heavyweights. AASU adviser Dr Samujal Bhattacharya, president Sankar Prasad Roy and general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi strongly lambasted the state BJP chief for disclosing that a few senior AASU leader would join his party.The AASU trio made it clear on Sunday that they won’t join BJP. They called it a blatant lie. “Not even a single senior AASU leader has talked to him. No AASU leader would join politics,” the trio told reporters on Sunday in Gwahati. Then what forces the BJP president t claim it? A senior...
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