GUWAHATI, April 18 - Both the ruling BJP and the principal opposition party Congress have exuded confidence of doing well in the five constituencies of the State which went to the polls today during the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
While the BJP claimed that it will make a clean sweep by winning all the five seats where polling was held today, the Congress said that it is confident of winning in three or four of the constituencies.
�The trend we have noticed is very positive. As per our calculation, after getting feedback from various places, we can confidently say that we will come out victorious in all the five constituencies where voting was held today. In the run-up to the polls, we did face some problems in Karimganj, but we have been able to surmount those and now we are positive about securing that seat as well,� State BJP general secretary Pulak Gohain told The Assam Tribune.
He said BJP�s twin agenda of development and security has been appreciated by the electorate of the State.
�People have seen and experienced the developmental activities carried out during the last five years by the Narendra Modi-led government. All sections of society have benefited from the developmental agenda of the NDA regime. Besides, national security is an issue about which people care a lot and the Modi government has accorded top priority to the matter. As such, we have been able to get the support of the masses,� said Gohain.
He added that out of the 10 constituencies of Assam which have gone to the polls during the first two phases, the BJP is confident of winning from all the nine seats where it has fielded its own candidates.
As part of the seat-sharing formula among the NDA partners, BJP is contesting in 10 out of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies of Assam, while the AGP has fielded candidates in Kaliabor, Barpeta and Dhubri, and the BPF is in the fray in Kokrajhar.
BJP has fielded candidates in all the five constituencies of the second phase which went to the polls today.
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on the other hand, claimed that it will win three-four of the seats where polling was held today.
�People of Assam have seen the false promises of the BJP and the voters are totally disenchanted with the Modi government. Our leader Rahul Gandhi has acceptability among the masses. People have been attracted to the plans and programmes outlined in our party�s manifesto. In recent times, the Congress party has formed governments in various states and in all those places our party has implemented the promises made during our poll campaign within days of assuming power. So people know that Congress implements its promises,� said APCC general secretary (Organisation) Ranjan Bora.
He added that the people of Assam have appreciated the stand taken by the Congress on the issue of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (CAB).
�Our party did not compromise on the CAB. Congress played the leading role in mobilising all the opposition parties against the Bill. On the other hand, both Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah have promised to bring back CAB if the NDA returns to power. So, the people of Assam have realised that only the Congress can ensure that the Bill is not brought back,� Bora said.
Meanwhile, the AIUDF has expressed confidence of retaining the Karimganj constituency. �Karimganj is a minority-dominated seat and we have a solid base among the minority community electorate. In addition, our candidate Radheshyam Biswas enjoys popularity among the Namasudra Bengali community. That is a winning combination for our party. We are confident of winning from Karimganj again this time,� said Haidor Hussain Bora, general secretary of AIUDF.
The five constituencies which went to the polls in the second phase today are Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous District (Diphu), Nagaon and Mangaldoi.
In the last parliamentary elections held in 2014, the BJP had emerged victorious in Nagaon and Mangaldoi constituencies and the Congress had won from Silchar and Diphu, while the AIUDF had secured the Karimganj seat.
