Lok Sabha Polls: Campaigning For First Phase Ends In Northeast As PM Modi, Himanta Address Final Rallies

The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases, beginning on Friday. The votes will be counted on June 4.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during a public meeting ahead of Lok Sabha elections, in Nalbari district, Assam.

Source : PTI

Lok Sabha Elections: The campaigning for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in 15 out of the total 25 Parliamentary constituencies in the eight northeastern states ended on Wednesday. The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases, beginning on Friday. The votes will be counted on June 4. In the first phase, 15 Lok Sabha seats in eight states are set to go to polls on April 19.

All the political parties made last ditch efforts to woo voters in the northeast. Throughout the day, political parties reached out to voters through street campaigns, press conferences and rallies.

Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma concluded the election campaign for the first phase on Wednesday in Sivasagar and exuded confidence in the saffron party's victory in all five seats of the region by a significant margin.

Lok Sabha Polls: Here Are Key Highlights From Last Day Of Campaigning In Northeast 

1. In the first phase, polls are set to be held in five seats in Assam, all two in Arunachal Pradesh, in Manipur Inner (including partly in Outer Manipur), two seats in Meghalaya, one of the two seats in Tripura, and the sole seats in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Sikkim.
2. In Arunachal Pradesh, simultaneous polls in two Lok Sabha seats Arunachal West and Arunachal East Parliamentary constituencies will be held along with 50 Assembly seats in the first phase. Of the total of 60 Assembly seats in AP, BJP candidates in 10 seats including Chief Minister Pema Khandu (Mukto seat) and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein (Chowkham seat), have been elected unopposed.
3. In Manipur, a state which witnessed a year-long ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zomi communities campaigning for the two Lok Sabha seats – Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur was significantly subdued this time.
4. Political parties and the candidates did not organise any public meeting. Only on April 15, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah addressed an election rally in Imphal in support of the party candidates. A total of 10 candidates -- six in Inner Manipur and four in Outer Manipur -- are contesting the two Lok Sabha seats.
5. As far as Mizoram is concerned, campaigning for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram ended on Wednesday. Over 8.56 lakh electorate, including 4.4 lakh women voters, are eligible to exercise their franchise. Election officials said there was no major law and order problems during the campaign.
6. Six candidates, one each from ZPM, MNF, Congress, BJP, People's Conference (PC) and independent candidate Lalhriatrenga Chhangte are in the fray.
7. In Assam, the battle of the ballots in the first phase will decide the fate of 35 candidates including two Rajya Sabha MPs, three Lok Sabha MPs and an MLA.
8. The five constituencies going to the polls in this phase are Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kaziranga, Sonitpur and Lakhimpur. The prominent candidates in the fray are Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is contesting from Dibrugarh, and Lok Sabha's deputy leader of the opposition Gaurav Gogoi, who has been fielded by the Congress from Jorhat.
9. PM Modi on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, asserted that he went to people with hope in 2014, trust in 2019 and guarantee in 2024. Addressing an election rally at the Borkura ground in Assam's Nalbari, he said that the birth celebrations of Lord Ram were being held in the temple at Ayodhya after 500 years with a 'Surya Tilak' ceremony.
10. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also campaigned for the BJP in Lakhimpur and held a roadshow in Tinsukia under Dibrugarh parliamentary constituency while Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi held a road show in Jorhat for party nominee Gaurav Gogoi.
11. The campaign for Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency and Ramnagar Assembly constituency by-poll ended at 5 pm on Wednesday. The Election department said that the state is geared up and all the preparations including security arrangements have been made for the polling to be held on April 19, as reported by PTI.
12. Although nine candidates are in the fray in Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency, the battle will be mainly between BJP candidate Biplab Kumar Deb and state Congress president Asish Kumar Saha. A total of 14.61 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. Of them, 7.33 lakh are male while the number of female voters is 7.28 lakh.
13. In the Ramnagar Assembly by-election, the battle line has been drawn between BJP candidate, Agartala Mayor Dipak Majumer, and former CPI(M) MLA Ratan Das.