GUWAHATI, April 21 - Campaigning for the high-profile Guwahati constituency, which will go to the polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 23, ended at 5 pm on Sunday.
With a total of 21,78,617 electors, the Guwahati constituency has the highest number of electorate among all the 14 Lok Sabha seats of Assam. Of the total electorate of Guwahati, 11,00,746 are males, 10,77,793 are females, while 78 belong to the �third gender�.
There are 17 candidates in the fray from Guwahati this time. They are Queen Oja (BJP), Bobbeeta Sharma (Indian National Congress), Manoj Sharma (All India Trinamool Congress), Avijit Chakraborty (Bharatiya Gana Parishad), Sadek Ali (Republican Party of India � Athawale), Pankaj Das (Swarna Bharat Party), Partha Pratim Baruah (Voters Party International), Mamoni Sarma (Purvanchal Janata Party � Secular), Rajib Kakati (Hindusthan Nirman Dal), Ratul Kumar Choudhury (Samajwadi Party), Rubi Neog (National Republican Congress), Alimuddin Ahmed (Independent), Upamanyu Hazarika (Independent), Utpal Borgohain (Independent), Junmoni Devi Khaund (Independent), Faruk Ahmed Bhuyan (Independent) and Shankha Sinha (Independent).
Both the ruling BJP and the principal opposition party Congress took out rallies on the last day of campaigning on Sunday.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off a bike rally from the College of Veterinary Science playground at Khanapara in support of BJP candidate Queen Oja.
The rally, led by Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, passed through Ganeshguri, GS Road, Paltan Bazar, AT Road, Athgaon, Kedar Road, Fancy Bazar, Gauhati High Court, Guwahati Club, Chandmari, RG Baruah Road, again through Ganeshguri and Christian Basti, before concluding near SB Deorah College in Ulubari area.
The saffron party also organised a women�s bike rally. It started from near SB Deorah College and passed through Ganeshguri, Super Market and Six Mile, before returning by GS Road to Ulubari and ending at Lachit Nagar. Oja rode pillion on a bike driven by party MLA Angoorlata Deka during the rally.
The Congress also organised a big rally, with over 1,000 bikes and 150 four-wheelers, in support of its candidate Bobbeeta Sharma. It was flagged off by former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at the Manabendra Sarma complex at Dispur. The rally passed through GS Road, AT Road before reaching Jalukbari and then returned via Fancy Bazar, Panbazar, Uzanbazar, Silpukhuri, Chandmari, RG Baruah Road, before culminating at Geetanagar.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora and other senior party leaders, along with Sharma herself, took part in the rally.
Meanwhile, Gogoi and senior party leader Sushmita Dev campaigned for Sharma at Chaygaon on the concluding day of electioneering.
Both Oja and Sharma have exuded confidence of winning from the constituency.
There are a total of 2,592 polling stations in Guwahati constituency � the highest among the 14 parliamentary seats of Assam.
The Guwahati seat comprises 10 Legislative Assembly Constituency (LAC) segments � Dudhnoi (1,95,995 electors), Boko (2,16,263), Chaygaon (1,77,245), Palasbari (1,49,068), Hajo (1,69,489), Jalukbari (1,94,671), Dispur (3,85,656), Guwahati East (2,27,668), Guwahati West (2,78,223) and Barkhetri (1,84,339).
Female electors outnumber their male counterparts in four of the LAC segments � Dudhnoi, Jalukbari, Guwahati East and Guwahati West.
There are 79 polling stations in Guwahati constituency where only women polling personnel will be deployed. In addition, there are 24 model polling stations and 70 remote polling stations in the constituency.
Unlike in other Lok Sabha constituencies of the state, where only a single balloting unit are being used, two EVMs will be used in Guwahati as the number of contestants is higher. There is provision for only 16 candidates in an EVM, while Guwahati constituency has 17 candidates.
While the main contest in the constituency is likely to be between Oja and Sharma, independent candidates Upamanyu Hazarika and Junmoni Devi Khaund, both contesting on an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Bill plank, could garner some good number of votes.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Bijoya Chakravarty of the BJP had defeated her nearest rival Manash Borah of the Congress by over 3.15 lakh votes in Guwahati.
