GUWAHATI, April 21 - Campaigning for the third phase of the general elections to the Lok Sabha ended at 5 pm today.
Four constituencies in the State � Guwahati, Barpeta, Dhubri and Kokrajhar � will go to polls in the third phase on April 23.
Under Section 126 of The Representation of the People�s Act, 1951, campaigning in any form is prohibited during a period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for conclusion of polls.
A total of 54 candidates are in the fray in the four constituencies of Assam going to the polls in the third phase.
There are 17 candidates in fray in Guwahati, 15 in Dhubri, 13 in Barpeta, and nine in Kokrajhar.
There are a total of 9,577 polling stations in the four Lok Sabha seats which together comprise 40 Legislative Assembly Constituency (LAC) segments.
The total number of electors eligible to exercise their franchise in the four constituencies is 74,77,062, of which 38,15,335 are male, 36,61,570 are female and 157 belong to the third gender.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the ruling party�s campaign in the four constituencies of the third phase, while for the Congress the major star campaigners included All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Assam Harish Rawat, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and State party president Ripun Bora.
In the last parliamentary elections held in 2014, the BJP had emerged victorious from Guwahati and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) had won from Barpeta and Dhubri, while the Kokrajhar seat had gone to an Independent candidate.
This time the main contest in the Guwahati constituency is expected to be between the ruling BJP and the principal opposition party Congress. Both Dhubri and Barpeta constituencies are likely to witness three-cornered contests between the Congress, the AIUDF and the AGP.
A triangular contest between sitting Independent MP Naba Kumar Sarania and the candidates of the Bodoland People�s Front (BPF) and the United People�s Party Liberal (UPPL) is expected in the Kokrajhar constituency.
As part of the seat-sharing arrangement among the NDA constituents, BJP has fielded its own candidate from the Guwahati constituency, while Barpeta and Dhubri have been allotted to the AGP, and the Kokrajhar seat to the BPF.
Congress is contesting from all the four constituencies.
The AIUDF and the UPPL have entered into a �political understanding� for the Dhubri, Barpeta and Kokrajhar constituencies. While the AIUDF is supporting the UPPL candidates in Kokrajhar, the UPPL has extended support to the AIUDF in Dhubri and Barpeta.
Most of the district administrations in the areas which will go to the polls in the second phase have imposed 144 of the CrPC, prohibiting various activities to ensure free and fair elections.
