Only one phase of poll before Bihu in Assam

Assam is most likely going to have only one phase of election before Bihu and remaining  phases will be after Bihu as the  announcement of the Lok Sabha election will not happen before March 9.

This was quite evident as  the Assam Government has gone on scheduling inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony till the night of February, March 8 and that was done following a tip off  from New Delhi.

Assam PWD officials have been asked to arrange a Foundation stone laying ceremony of the Convention Centre near the old Hotel Brahmaputra on the evening of Friday.

With the poll announcement most likely coming in the afternoon of March 9, then  part of Assam will be in the first phase of the long LS Poll schedule and the date is most likely April 9. As the Bihu activities will start from April 12,  it will leave time for only one phase before the poll in Assam

In 2014, the poll schedule was like this

• April 7(Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur),
• April 12(Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous District)
• April 24(Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Gauhati, Mangaldoi, Nowgong,)

Looking at this and looking at the schedule of events  arranged by the Assam Government in consultation with New Delhi, the 2019 LS schedule for Assam looks like more after Bihu and that is a bad news for politicians  with Bihu making the LS poll campaigning more expensive.

It is expected that Upper Assam Lok Sabha constituency shall be put in the first phase, leaving the others for the second phase. However, with the ground condition far improved than 2014, Assam may witness two phase poll also. But all the Brahmaputra valley politicians are praying that it should be over before Bihu in a single phase.