Assam polls: 818 candidates file 1,391 nominations; scrutiny on March 24
SVEEP icons Rakesh Banik, Abhinav Bora and Rajeev Duwarah lead awareness push with street plays, contests and campaigns
Supporters of arch-rivals Congress and the BJP during nomination filing in Guwahati on Monday. (AT Photo)
Guwahati, Mar 23: A total of 818 candidates have filed 1,391 nomination papers for the Assam Legislative Assembly Election 2026, with multiple filings in several constituencies pushing up the overall count, the Chief Electoral Officer’s office informed on Monday.
"However, the compilation process is still going on, and the figures are subject to change," the statement read.
The nominations were submitted across all 126 Assembly constituencies in the state. Scrutiny of nomination papers is scheduled for March 24, while March 26 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of candidature.
In a parallel development, the Election Commission of India has deputed Manjeet Singh, IAS (Retd.) as Special Observer for the upcoming polls to oversee the conduct of free and fair elections.
He arrived at the state headquarters in Dispur on March 23 and will be available to receive representations from political parties, social organisations and the general public.
Officials said stakeholders can directly approach the Special Observer between 11 am and 5 pm every day with any complaints or concerns related to the electoral process.
Meanwhile, voter awareness initiatives have been intensified across Assam under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.
A series of district-level activities are underway to boost voter turnout and reinforce awareness about electoral rights and responsibilities.
Campaigns include street plays, painting and rangoli competitions, slogan writing, digital poster contests, wall writing, workshops and other creative outreach efforts aimed at engaging citizens.
District administrations have also introduced mascots to attract voters, including “Bakhor” in Lakhimpur, “Ganbandhu” in Sonitpur, “Jolou” in Jorhat, “Chameli” in Golaghat and “Dwimulu and Sikhiri” in Kokrajhar.
Public figures have also been roped in as SVEEP icons, with “Lazyguy” fame Abhinav Bora associated with Jorhat, and actor Rajeev Duwarah serving as the SVEEP icon in Lakhimpur.
State SVEEP icon and para-cyclist Rakesh Banik is also set to spearhead outreach campaigns across districts to further mobilise voters.