Over one-third of Assam poll candidates are independents as little-known parties crowd ballot and strain EVM capacity

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Many political parties, the names of which are not familiar to the people of Assam, are contesting the Assembly poll this time. There are also many independent candidates in the poll fray who lack a political base. Many candidates are expected to receive fewer than 1,000 votes.

Of the 722 candidates in the Assembly poll fray, around 35% are independent candidates. Around 10 parties somewhat lacking a political base in the state are also fielding candidates.

The number of independent candidates in the poll is 258, which works out to around 35% of the total candidates in the fray. On the other hand, lesser-known parties like the Vikas India Party have fielded 5 candidates, the Voters Party International has 17 candidates, the National Road Map Party of India has 2 candidates, the Gondvana Ganatantra Party has 3, the Bharatiya Gana Parishad has 4, the SUCI has 41, the Rashtriya Ulema Council has 10, the Apni Janata Party has 2, and the All India Forward Bloc has fielded 2 candidates, among other such parties.

An analysis of the results in the last Assembly poll in 2021 shows that there are many candidates who didn’t manage to corner even 1,000 votes. In Ratabari, there were 9 contesting candidates, of which 6 didn’t manage to get 1,000 votes. Similarly, 12 candidates in Patharkandi didn’t get 1,000 votes. In Hajo, 4 candidates got fewer than 1,000 votes. Also, three candidates in Barkhetri got fewer than 1,000 votes. Nalbari has 2 such candidates, Kalaigaon 6, Sipajhar 6, and Mazbat 4.

Sources said that some parties field candidates only to prove that they still exist. Many political parties back independent candidates to cut into the vote bank of rival parties. Even the Election Commission of India (ECI) has trouble providing election symbols to so many candidates. Moreover, problems are faced in the provision of an adequate number of buttons in EVMs for voters to choose their preferred candidate.

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