45 file nominations for Ist phase of Assam LS polls

Guwahati, March 25 (IANS) Forty-five candidates have filed nominations for the five out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, which will go to the polls in the first phase on April 11, officials said on Monday.These five constituencies are Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur.Monday was the last date for filing nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. As many as 12 candidates filed their nominations for the Lakhimpur constituency, the highest among the five, while the Kaliabor seat witnessed the least number of candidates at seven. Ten candidates filed nominations for the Tezpur constituency, while Dibrugarh and Jorhat had eight candidates each.The prominent candidates for the first phase of polls include, Gaurav Gogoi (Congress) and Mani Madhab Mahanta (Asom Gana Parishad) for Kaliabor, former bureaucrat M.G.V.K. Bhanu (Congress) and state Minister Pallab Lochan Das (BJP) for Tezpur, state Power Minister Tapan Gogoi (BJP) and Sushanta Borgohain (Congress) for Jorhat, former MP Paban Singh Ghatowar (Congress) and sitting MP Rameswar Teli (BJP) for Dibrugarh, and Anil Buragohain (Congress) and sitting MP Pradan Boruah (BJP) for Lakhimpur.The scrutiny of nominations will be done on Tuesday, while March 28 is the last date of withdrawal.A total of 75,16,284 voters will caste their votes in the first phase in the state.
--IANS ah/arm/pcj