As many as nine flying squad teams have been deployed in the five districts where bypolls are scheduled to be held later this year. Assam Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Anurag Goel made the announcement on Friday after the Election Commission revealed the date for the bypolls.
To ensure fair and transparent elections, "Flying squad teams have been deployed in Nagaon, Bongaigaon, Biswanath, Chirang, Cachar and some parts of Kokrajhar districts for the upcoming by-polls as the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in place," said Goel, while addressing the media in Guwahati today.
A total of 9,10,665 voters, including 19 third-gender voters, are eligible to vote in the upcoming by-elections, which will take place in 1,078 polling stations across the Dholai (SC), Sidli (ST), Bongaigaon, Behali, and Samaguri legislative assembly constituencies.
Highlighting the preparations, Goel remarked, “There are more than 200 per cent stock of EVMs in all five constituencies, and the first randomisation of EVMs will take place on October 19. The second randomisation is expected on November 1, and commissioning will occur from November 4.”
The by-elections for these five assembly constituencies are scheduled for November 13, following the vacating of these seats earlier this year as their MLAs transitioned to parliamentary positions during the Lok Sabha elections.
Prominent MLAs who made this shift include BJP’s Parimal Suklabaidya, who represented the Dholai Assembly segment and won the Cachar Lok Sabha seat, and Ranjit Dutta from Behali, who secured a victory in the Tezpur parliamentary seat. Veteran AGP leader Phani Bhushan Choudhury, holding the Bongaigaon constituency since 1985, successfully contested the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat, while UPPL’s Joyanta Basumatary won Kokrajhar after previously representing Sidli. Additionally, Congress’s Rakibul Hussain, a five-time MLA from Samaguri, achieved a decisive victory in Dhubri.
In the upcoming by-polls, the BJP will contest in three constituencies—Behali, Dholai, and Samaguri—while its allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), will field candidates in Bongaigaon and Sidli, respectively.
