West Bengal, Assam Elections 2021 LIVE Updates: 77 Seats Vote In First Phase, Assam Chief Minister Among Key Candidates

Trinamool Congress claimed 26 of 30 seats in the last elections. For this election they are contesting 29 seats and supporting an independent candidate in the other. The BJP is working on an identical formula – the 30th seat has been given to an ally. The Congress is fighting 10 seats, with 18 going to the Left – the majority alliance partner.

As voting began in West Bengal and Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon voters to excercise their franchise in record numbers. 

Today, Phase 1 of the West Bengal Assembly elections begin. I would request all those who are voters in the seats polling today to exercise their franchise in record numbers.

– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 27, 2021

West Bengal: First phase of polling begins in Jhargram

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Voters at a polling booth in Jorhat in Assam. The constituency is likely to wittness a close fight between assembly speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami of BJP and heavyweight Rana Goswami.

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In Assam, most of these seats will witness a triangular contest between the ruling BJP-AGP alliance, the Congress-led opposition grand alliance and the newly formed Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is among the high-profile candidates in the first phase. Mr Sonowal is contesting from Majuli (ST) seat where he is locked in a direct contest with three-time former Congress MLA and former minister Rajib Lochan Pegu.

Preparations underway at a polling station in Rupahi, Nagaon district, ahead of voting for the first phase of #AssamAssemblyPolls today

(ANI)

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The stakes for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) are high in Assam where 47 seats of 126 Assembly constituencies across 34 districts will go for polling to the first of the three-phase elections on Saturday.

Polling will begin at 7 am today in 47 constituencies across 12 districts in Assam where the ruling BJP and Congress-AIUDF alliance are locked in a direct electoral contest.

In the first phase, a total of 264 candidates are in the fray on the 47 seats — 42 from 11 districts of the Upper and northern region of the state and five seats from central Assam’s Nagaon district.

The ruling BJP, who had wrestled power from the Congress in 2016 after a 15-year rule, is seeking a second term with the help of the AGP and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).

The Congress-led United People’s Alliance (UPA) “Mahajath” and United Regional Front (URF) led by activist Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal have posed as formidable opponents.

The “Khela” (game) of power begins in West Bengal on Saturday with the beginning of the first of the eight-phase assembly polls in the state.

In the first phase, 30 seats covering all assembly constituencies from the districts of Purulia and Jhargram and a segment of Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur are going for polls.

The first phase of polling will decide the electoral fate of 191 candidates including 21 women.

The state is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with Trinamool Congress (TMC), Congress-Left alliance and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the fray.