Guwahati: With the Election Commission of India (ECI) declaring the poll schedule, hectic political activities have started in northeastern states to finalise candidates and poll strategies.
The ruling BJP has taken the lead in starting campaign with Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was instrumental in the surge of the saffron party in Assam, on Monday hinting that he may contest the Lok Sabha elections while claiming that the BJP and its allies would win between 19 and 21 seats out of 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the Northeast.
Mr Sarma said, “I am prepared to contest the Lok Sabha elections if my party desires to field me.”
Assam’s 14 constituencies will see polling in three phases on April 11, 18 and 23. Manipur and Tripura, which have two seats, will vote in two phases on April 11 and 18. Meghalaya (two seats), Nagaland (one), Arunac-hal Pradesh (two), Miz-oram (one) and Sikkim (one) will go to the polls on April 11.
Asserting that under the leadership of Prime Min-ister Narendtra Modi, his party would also improve the margin of victory in comparison to 2014, Mr Sarma said, “There are 25 Lok Sabha seats in the Northeast. I think the BJP and its partners, who are members of the North East Democratic Alliance (Neda), will win 19-21 seats. In Assam, the BJP and its allies are going to win between 9 and 11 seats out of 14 seats.”
