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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma exuded confidence in the BJP sweeping all five seats that went to the polls in the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Assam has 14 Lok Sabha constituencies, of which five--Kaziranga, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh and Jorhat--went to the polls on April 19. "We will win all five seats in the first phase. We will also win the Karimganj seat in the second phase. In the third phase, except for Dhubri, we will win other seats. A good campaign is going on in Dhubri. So far, I have not visited Dhubri and I will come to know the situation there after visiting Dhubri," Sarma told reporters. "The highest winning margin will be from Guwahati. In the second phase, earlier Nagaon and Karimganj seats were tough, but now it has become easy for us," he added. He said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Assam on Sunday and will hold a roadshow in Silchar. On the other hand, when asked about TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's allegation that the BJP government in Assam has not been able to do enough development in the state and about TMC's plan to contest all the seats in the next Assembly polls in the state, he said that Mamata Banerjee should focus on the development of West Bengal. "If TMC will field its candidates in all 126 seats in Assam in the assembly election, then the candidates' expenditure will come from West Bengal and the money will be added to the Assam economy. So I welcome Mamata Banerjee," he said. The Assam Chief Minister on Saturday attended an election campaign rally in Karimganj for BJP candidate Kripanath Mallah for the Karimganj Lok Sabha seat. Sarma further said that his cabinet reshuffle will take place after the election. Assam recorded 75.95 per cent voter turnout in the first phase of polls, which was held in five parliamentary constituencies in the state on Friday. The second phase of polls for five Lok Sabha seats in Assam - Silchar, Karimganj, Diphu, Nagaon, and Darrang-Udalguri will be held on April 26. Altogether, 60 candidates filed their nomination papers for four parliamentary constituencies in the state that are going to the polls in the third phase on May 7. In the third phase, voting will be held in Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Barpeta and Guwahati parliamentary constituencies. According to the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, 30 candidates had filed their nomination papers on the last day of submission for the third phase of the polls. "On the last day of submission of nomination papers for the third phase of polls, 7 candidates filed their nomination papers in Kokrajhar, 10 in Dhubri, 9 in Barpeta and 4 in Guwahati," said the DIPR, Assam, in a press statement. (ANI)
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