482 candidates in fray in first phase of Assam assembly polls

A total of 27 candidates withdrew their nominations on the last day of withdrawal which ended here last evening, Chief Electoral Officer, Hemanta Narzary said here today. As many as 529 candidates had filed their nominations, but the papers of 20 nominees were rejected by the returning officers.

Among prominent candidates in the fray, in the first phase , included Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi from Titabor, Speaker,Tanka Bahadur Rai, Deputy Speaker, Pranati Phukan, Power Minister, Pradyut Bordoloi, PWD minister, Ajanta Neog, Culture and Sports Minister, Bharat Narah, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Nurjamal Sarkar, Public Health Department Minister,Dinesh Prasad Goala and Handloom and Law Minister, Pranab Gogoi.

BJP state unit President, Ranjit Dutta, former AGP President Brindabon Goswami, former ULFA militants Jiten Deuri and Kushal Konwar, ASDC leader, Mohit Hojai, currently in jail in connection with the NC Hills funds diversion scam, are also in the fray.

The constituencies going to polls in the first phase include 15 in the Barak Valley, five in the two hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills district, eight in Sonitpur and the remaining 34 in the Upper Assam districts of Dhemaji, Golaghat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Lakhimpur and Jorhat.