A total of 1,351 nominees will seek electoral mandates in this phase, where the counting of votes will take place on 4 June (after four more phases of polling scheduled for 13, 20, 25 May and 1 June) and the results of the general elections in 2024 are expected the same day.
AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accuses BJP of taking open support of Badruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF through secret understanding to divide Congress votes and make the saffron alliance victorious in Assam. She also highlights allegations of scams, mafia-raaj, and lack of development in the state. Priyanka promises to increase the daily wage of tea garden workers and supports the demand for ST status for the Koch Rajbongshi community.
Guwahati: As many as 24 candidates, the highest in any Lok Sabha seat in Assam, were in the fray for the Karimganj seat, where some voters got puzzled.
Chief Minister Himanta Baswa Sarma focuses on large turnouts at his rallies in Bengali Muslim-majority areas, says, "Outside Assam, people won't believe that 50,000 Muslims attended a BJP meeting."
Barak Valley in Assam, previously a reserved seat, will vote for Karimganj Lok Sabha seat on April 26 after moving to unreserved category due to delimitation. The constituency, bordering Bangladesh, has high Muslim population and faces citizenship ambiguities.