Guwahati: Voting for all 126 constituencies of the Assam Legislative Assembly commenced on Thursday (April 9), with 722 candidates in the fray, officials said.
The contest is seen as crucial, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party seeking a third straight term, while the Indian National Congress is attempting to return to power after losing the state in 2016.
Polling is being conducted in a single phase and began at 7 am, scheduled to continue until 5 pm. Voters started arriving early in the morning, forming long queues at several polling stations.
Around 2.50 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots at 31,490 polling stations across the state. The electorate includes about 1.25 crore women and 318 voters from the third gender.
Key candidates in the fray include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia, Badruddin Ajmal of the All India United Democratic Front, Akhil Gogoi of the Raijor Dal and Lurinjyoti Gogoi of the Assam Jatiya Parishad.
Several cabinet ministers are also contesting the polls, including Atul Bora and Keshab Mahanta of the Asom Gana Parishad, along with Charan Boro of the Bodoland People's Front.
Among the parties, the Congress has fielded the highest number of candidates at 99, followed by the BJP with 90. The AIUDF is contesting 30 seats, while NDA partners AGP and BPF have nominated 26 and 11 candidates respectively.
Within the opposition alliance, the Raijor Dal is contesting 13 seats, the AJP 10, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) three, and the All Party Hill Leaders Conference two.
Outside the two major alliances, the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting 18 seats, the United People's Party Liberal 18, the All India Trinamool Congress 22, and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 16, while 258 independent candidates are also in the race.
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The ruling NDA alliance in the state comprises the BJP, AGP and BPF, whereas the opposition bloc includes the Congress, Raijor Dal, AJP, CPI(M), APHLC and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4.