GUWAHATI, May 13 � Political pep-talk was the order of the day in Guwahati today. While the historic Cotton College was the cynosure of all eyes in the first half of the day, Rajiv Bhawan hogged the limelight for the rest of the day with Congress bagging all the four seats in Guwahati, thereby registering a record feat.
The day began with supporters of various political parties and polling agents making a beeline to Cotton College, the counting centre for the four constituencies falling under the capital city.
Customary activities also took a back-seat in the city as market places, movie halls and other busy areas witnessed comparatively fewer footfall. The exceptions, however, were select areas where people in groups stayed glued to the TV sets following the result updates hour after hour.
District administration sources informed that supporters of political parties began to assemble around the counting centre as early as 6:30 am. Candidates in fray, including Congress candidate from Dispur constituency Akon Bora and BJP candidate from East Guwahati Siddhartha Bhattacharjee, also visited the counting centre.
�While the supporters were denied access beyond the hundred-metres radius from the counting centre as per the Election Commission (EC) guideline, polling agents with authorized passes were allowed entry after necessary formalities,� an official of the district administration said.
Security personnel, including para military forces, were stationed in large numbers with senior police officials reviewing the arrangements repeatedly. A three-tier security arrangement was also put in place around the counting centre as per the EC guideline.
As the day progressed and mandate of the voters was more or less clear, Rajiv Bhawan, the Congress headquarters turned into the focal point. Party supporters were seen rejoicing victories of candidates and shouting slogans while the APCC members exchanged pleasantries.
�Frankly speaking, even we did not expect such a result. But people have trusted us for the third consecutive term and we are thankful to them for that. We are yet to get the official figures but things are clear,� a senior APCC member told this reporter.
As the news of the Congress victory spread, party workers also took out car and bike rallies on the city roads rejoicing the victory.
Later in the evening, with the likes of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Nilomoni Sen Deka (who caused the biggest upset beating Asom Gana Parishad chief Chandra Mohan Patowary by a huge margin), the Congress headquarters swung into celebration mood with party workers bursting crackers. The celebration continued till late at night.
Senior Superintendent of Police (City) Deepak Choudhury informed that the counting process passed off peacefully and no untoward incident was recorded till the time of filing this report.
