GUWAHATI, April 1 � Regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and its ally Ganashakti are overconfident that they would be able to sweep the Upper Assam seats, while the AGP claims that it would be leading the next Government in the State even as the date of the first phase of Assembly elections in the State is drawing near.
However, the Congress counters the above assertions as 'baseless' and 'figments of wishful thinking.'
AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary, who is campaigning for the party candidates by addressing election rallies in he Upper Assam and North Bank districts these days, claimed that his party would head the next Government in the State.
The public response to the AGP, as has been manifested in its rallies, resembles the atmosphere of the 1980s. People in many places like Bihpuria, Dhemaji and Dhakuakhana were so resolute in their support to the party that they were not daunted even by the heavy downpours. At Dhakuakhana, around 30,000 people took part in the party's election rally.
And if this is to be the size of the votes in favour of the AGP nominee for the Legislative Constituency (LAC), he is sure to win the election, claimed the AGP president.
As of today, the party is in number one position in Dhekiajuli, Borsola, Rangapara, Tezpur, Sootea, Biswanath, Gohpur, Bihpuria, Naoboicha, Lakhimpur, Dhakuakhana and Dhemaji.
In the South Bank, party nominees are sure to win in Sadiya and Tinsukia, while its nominees are in very good position in Moran and Lahowal, and, as of today, its nominee in Chabua is in a good position, the AGP president claimed.
Moreover, the party is sure to get its nominees returned also from Tingkhong, Mahmora, Sivasagar, Amguri, Jorhat, Dergaon, Sarupathar and Bokakhat seats, while in Thawra, Teok and Golaghat, its nominees are in contest with the prospect to win.
In the Barak Valley, the party nominee for Algapur LAC is sure to win, while in Karimganj (South) and Ratabari-I, the party nominees have winning prospects. In Barkhola, the party nominee is in contest.
In the Dima Hasao District (Haflong LAC), the party is expecting victory, Patowary said, adding, the Ganashakti nominee would be able to return from the Jonai LAC and in the Majuli LAC, the contest will be limited between its (Ganashakti) nominee and the Independent candidate Padmeswar Doley.
Elections to the above seats are going to be held on April 4, the date fixed for the first phase of the State Assembly elections. The first phase of elections will cover 62 LACs.
Ganashakti president Dr Ranoj Pegu also echoed the above assertions of the AGP president. However, he claimed that the nominees of his party would be the winners from the Jonai and Majuli LACs.
But, when contacted for comments, chairman of the APCC Media Department and former Minister Pankaj Bora claimed that the Congress would not only retain the seats it is presently holding, but would also increase its tally in the areas being covered by the first phase of elections.
Unlike the AGP, the party is not indulging in pipedreams. But this dream is unlikely to fructify, claimed Bora.
