Campaigning for First Phase Polls Comes to an End in West Bengal, Assam

Curtains came down at 5 pm on Thursday on the high decibel campaign in 30 assembly seats in West Bengal and 47 assembly constituencies in Assam. First phase polling in both states are scheduled on March 27. Counting of votes will be done on May 2.

WEST BENGAL

The 30 seats are spread across tribal-dominated Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Purba Medinipur (Part 1) and Paschim Medinipur (Part 1) districts which were once considered the citadel of the Left in the state.

The campaign for the seats saw high profile leaders of BJP, which has emerged as the main opposition to the ruling Trinamool Congress, addressing poll rallies in Purulia, Jhargram and Bankura districts promising ‘ashol poriborton’ (actual change) to build ‘Sonar Bangla’ (prosperous Bengal). The star BJP campaigners for the seats going to poll in the first phase were Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

The other star campaigners of the saffron party were Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, top leader Smriti Irani who repeatedly harped on the various scams. They attacked Mamata Banerjee’s party for the multi- crore rupees Saradha scam, the Narada tapes scandal to the more recent alleged siphoning of money meant for Amphan relief and the TMC government’s dealing with COVID-19 pandemic.

Bollywood Megastar Mithun Chakraborty who joined the saffron party campaigned for BJP candidates at Jangalmahal and Bankura. His road shows became a huge hit as people from all walks of life gathered to hear him, throwing all caution for COVID-19 to the winds. On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister held poll rallies in each of the 30 constituencies, her injured leg notwithstanding.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in her campaign described the Modi government as “anti-people” and the prime minister a “liar”.She also blamed him for not allowing the state government to give free coronavirus jabs to the people.

She charged BJP with bringing in outsiders to the state for the assembly election in Bengal and attacked the Modi government for the hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, another star campaigner for the party, urged the people to vote for “Banglar nijer meye” (Bengal’s own daughter) Mamata Banerjee to live in peace in the state.

The 30 constituencies had overwhelmingly voted for TMC in the last two state elections but BJP had swept them in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

ASSAM

The first phase of poll in Assam will decide the fate of 264 candidates.

Implementation of the Citizenship Amednment Act, 2019 was the central issue in the state, which was rocked by violence and protests against it, but BJP, which had steered the central legislation in Parliament maintained a studied silence on it. The issue did not find place in the campaigning by the party nor in its manifesto. However, party president J P Nadda’s comment that it is an act of Parliament and will be implemented saw protests across the state by political parties students union AASU.

The Congress, on the other hand, assured that if voted to power, it will bring a legislation in the assembly so that the act is not implemented in Assam. The hectic campaigning for the first phase was marked by poll meetings by several national leaders of the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, who criss-crossed the state to garner support for their respective parties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had led the campaign brigade for BJP and its alliance partner, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). The other BJP leaders who wooed the voters in Assam were BJP President J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar, who is also partys state in-charge. The others leaders from outside to hold campaign rallies were Textile and Handloom Minister Smriti Iraniand chief ministers Yogi Adityanath and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP state unit President Ranjeet Kumar Dass and North East Democratic Alliance convenor and state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigned in the constituencies which are spread across upper and central Assam. The highlight of the opposition Congress campaign was the visit of its top leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the tea belt, besides Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is in charge of the partys campaign in Assam.

The increased infiltration will lead to threats to the land, language, identity and culture of the state’s indigenous population, it insisted. The Congress in its campaign presented its Five guarantees’. These are five lakh government jobs to youths in five years, 200 units of free electricity for every household, increasing the daily wages of the tea garden workers to Rs 365 and Rs 2,000 per month to homemakers, besides the legislation against the implementation of the CAA.

The newly floated political parties Assam Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal relied mostly on door-to-door campaigns and street corner meetings. With ‘Rongali Bihu’, the popular spring festival of the Assamese about a fortnight away, supporters of the political parties were seen dancing the ‘jhumur’, the folk dance of the tea tribes or swaying to their election songs which have become particularly popular among the voters.

Prominent among those whose fates will be decided in the first phase are Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami, ministers Atul Bora, Keshab Mahanta, Ranjit Dutta, Naba Kumar Doley, Sanjoy Kishan and Nazir Hussain. The others are Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Ripun Bora, Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia, AICC secretary Bhupen Borah and former ministers of the party Bharat Narah, Pranatee Phukan and Rakibul Hussain.

The fates of jailed Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi and Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi along with his party general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan will also be decided in the first phase.

BJP is contesting in 39 of the 47 seats while its alliance partner the AGP in 10, including two where it is in friendly contest against the saffron party. The Congress is contesting in 43 seats and its allies AIUDF, RJD, Anchalik Gana Morcha (as independent) and CPI-ML in one seat each.

Assam Jatiya Parishad is contesting in 41 seats while the Raijor Dal is contesting in 19 seats as independents. A total of 78 independents are in the fray in the first phase. There are 23 women candidates in the fray in the first phase, Election Commission sources said.