GUWAHATI: With electioneering for the third and final phase of Lok Sabha elections in Assam hitting fever pitch, politicians from Meghalaya too have joined their counterparts here to campaign for the party candidates, particularly in the border areas.
Four Assam parliamentary constituencies comprising Guwahati, Barpeta, Dhubri and Kokrajhar will go to polls on Tuesday.
Former Meghalaya chief minister and veteran Congressman, Mukul Sangma and his brother, Zenith Sangma, conducted campaigns for Congress candidate from Guwahati Lok Sabha seat, Bobbeeta Sarma, in the Garo-inhabited areas near the Assam-Meghalaya border since Thursday.
Sources in the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee told The Shillong Times on Sunday that the two Meghalaya leaders campaigned across segments in Kamrup and Goalpara districts besides some parts of Kamrup (metropolitan) districts and appealed to the electorate to support the party.
Mukul Sangma, who is also the chairman of the North East Coordination Congress Committee, visited villages such as Gohalkona, Bakrapur, Nizampur and even in Byrnihat, where there is a sizeable Garo population.
The primary fight in Guwahati, considered the most urbanised parliamentary seat in the state with an electorate exceeding 21 lakh, will be between the ruling BJP and Congress, even as 17 candidates are in the fray. BJP has fielded veteran politician Queen Oja from the seat earlier represented by Bijoya Chakravarty.
Digros D Shira, spokesperson for BJP in Garo Hills, however said that none from Garo Hills have been invited by the party hierarchy to campaign in the Garo-populated border areas of Assam.
“Nevertheless, we expect BJP to do well in Assam. Last time (in 2014) I had organised campaigns for the party in the Garo areas of Assam. From that experience and the work done by the party leaders, I can say that Garo electorate will again support BJP. Congress has failed on its promise for a Garo Autonomous Council over the decades,” Digros said.
He further added that BJP unlike the Congress has also given chance to leaders from the community to represent the party.
National People’s Party, launched in Assam on March 6 this year and contesting seven seats (Silchar, Kaliabor, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Jorhat, Barpeta and Diphu), had its national president, Conrad K Sangma campaigning for the party candidate in Silchar prior to the second phase on April 18.
“However, the party has not had any other star campaigner for its candidates in Assam. We hope to do well in the polls even as our focus is on the 2021 Assembly elections,” said an NPP Assam spokesperson here.