7127 nominations filed, 6297 accepted, 133 rejected
Staff Reporter
Guwahati: At a time when great significance is being attached to the upcoming Panchayat elections in the state, the ruling BJP-led alliance is already putting in place a strategy for the polls even as the opposition Congress party is mired in infighting and allegations of money for tickets.
It is significant that the candidates for the 21,920 Gaon panchayat members cannot use any party symbol. The minimum qualification of the candidates is matric passed. The primary reason for not allowing the use of party symbols is the fact that many people want to contest the gaon panchayat elections for the sake of the people and society, but they do not want to contest the same under any political party. Most importantly, around 59% of women candidates desire to contest in the panchayat polls.
Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma claims that the BJP will win 323 seats out of 397 Zilla Parishad member seats. The saffron party has set aside 74 seats for alliance partner AGP. The BJP has already started chalking out plans on how many rallies will be addressed by the CM and how many by the state BJP president Dilip Saikia. In many minority-dominated areas, the BJP is allocating tickets for minority community candidates, which is significant in itself.
On the other hand, the main opposition party, the Congress, are engaged in infighting, and party members are concerned about allegations of money changing hands for tickets. As a result, many fit candidates are being deprived of tickets, leading to disenchantment among party workers. Congress state president Bhupen Bora admitted to anomalies in the distribution of tickets. "I have received several complaints from different areas about fitter candidates being deprived of tickets. If the results are not according to calculations due to deserving candidates being deprived of tickets, action will be taken against selection committee members, irrespective of the position they hold in the party. Already, show-cause notices have been issued against two district presidents," he said.
It is not only the Congress, but other opposition parties are also not gearing up for the elections as needed. An atmosphere of a united opposition is still not evident, in spite of the fact that barely 20 days remain for the first phase of polling.
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