NEW DELHI: The high-voltage campaign for the Assam Assembly elections ended on Tuesday, bringing to a close two weeks of sharp political exchanges, aggressive rhetoric and a barrage of promises.The contest has largely centred around the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Indian National Congress. The BJP’s campaign was dominated by its core plank of “jati-mati-bheti,” the protection of Assamese identity, land and culture along with a strong pitch against alleged illegal infiltration. This narrative remained so prominent that it overshadowed even the party’s welfare promises.The Congress, on the other hand, focused its campaign on targeting chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and accused the BJP of pursuing divisive politics, framing the election as a battle against what it called “politics of hate”.This election is the first Assembly poll after the 2023 delimitation exercise, which has redrawn constituency boundaries across all 126 seats. The changes have significantly altered the political landscape, particularly impacting Muslim voters of Bangladesh origin, whose influence is now seen as reduced from 31 to 22 constituencies.The BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in power, while the Congress is seeking to reclaim the state after being voted out in 2016.

Candidates and parties in the fray

A total of 722 candidates are contesting the elections, including several prominent leaders such as Himanta Biswa Sarma, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia, All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal leader Akhil Gogoi and Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi.Among parties, the Congress has fielded the highest number of candidates at 99, followed by the BJP with 90. The AIUDF is contesting 30 seats, while NDA allies Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front are contesting 26 and 11 seats, respectively.In the opposition bloc, Raijor Dal is contesting 13 seats, Assam Jatiya Parishad 10, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) 3, and the All Party Hill Leaders Conference 2 seats. Other parties in the fray include the Aam Aadmi Party (18), United People’s Party Liberal (18), All India Trinamool Congress (22), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (16), along with 258 independent candidates.

Faces to watch out for

Several constituencies are set for high-profile contests. In Jalukbari, Sarma is seeking a sixth consecutive term against Congress candidate Bidisha Neog. In Jorhat, Gaurav Gogoi is attempting his Assembly debut against BJP’s Hitendranath Goswami.AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal is contesting from Binnakandi in a triangular contest against AGP’s Shahabuddin Mazumdar and AJP’s Rejaul Karim Chowdhury.In Sibsagar, Akhil Gogoi faces a three-cornered contest against BJP’s Jayanta Hazarika and AGP’s Pradip Hazarika. AJP’s Lurinjyoti Gogoi is locked in a direct fight with BJP’s Chakradhar Gogoi in Khowang.AGP president and minister Atul Bora is in a triangular contest in Bokakhat against Raijor Dal’s Hari Prasad Saikia and former Independent MLA Jiten Gogoi. Meanwhile, minister Keshav Mahanta faces Raijor Dal candidate Pradip Kumar Baruah in Kaliabor.Polling will be held from 7 am to 5 pm across 31,490 polling stations in 35 districts. Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel said webcasting facilities have been enabled at all polling stations for real-time monitoring, while Central Armed Police Forces, including CRPF personnel, have been deployed to ensure security.A total of 2.50 crore voters are eligible to vote, including 1.25 crore women and 318 voters from the third gender. The electorate also includes 6.42 lakh first-time voters, 2.50 lakh voters aged 80 and above — including 2,466 centenarians — and 2.05 lakh persons with disabilities.With polling set to take place in a single phase on Thursday, the results will be declared on May 4, when it will become clear who forms the next government in Assam.