Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that in long years of its rule, Congress threw Assam into bomb, gun and blockade culture, while NDA gifted peace and respect to the state.
He was speaking at a rally in Assam's Kokrajhar.
"Congress has handed over its 'hand' and fortune to leaders of that party which had pushed Kokrajhar into violence. Congress is dreaming of coming to power in Assam with the help of those people whom it had saved for its vote bank," Modi was quoted as saying by ANI.
Modi also said that this election is between the 'maha jhooth' of Mahajot and 'maha vikas' of Double Engine.
Speaking about the voter turnout in the first phase, PM said," With the mantra of 'sabka saath sabka vikas sabka vishwas', NDA govt is working here for your welfare. People of Assam have given blessings to NDA in 1st phase of polling. In the 1st phase, Assam has put a stamp on the grand victory of NDA."
"Football is very popular among youth here. If I've to speak in their language, I would say that the people have yet again shown a Red Card to Congress and its Mahajot. People of Assam trust NDA for development, peace, security of the state," he added.
Meanwhile, the Assam recorded a voter turnout of 22.85 per cent till 11.20 am across 39 constituencies in 13 districts during the second phase of the state assembly polls, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Polling is underway in Assam for the second phase of assembly elections and COVID-19 safety protocols are being followed at various polling booths.
Voting for the second and penultimate phase of Assam assembly elections was temporarily stopped at polling stations at Silchar and Nagaon due to EVM malfunctions.
Over 73.44 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in the second phase of the elections. Of them, 37,34,537 are male voters and 36,09,959 are female voters, while 135 are third gender voters. The voting will be held on 8,998 polling stations and 556 of them are all-women polling stations.
A total of 345 candidates in 39 constituencies across 13 districts are in the fray in this phase of voting. Polling for the third and last phase will be held on April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
The main contest is seen to be between the alliances led by BJP and Congress.
The BJP-led alliance includes the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL). Congress has stitched a broad alliance that includes All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, the Anchalik Gana Marcha (AGM) and the Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF).
The election in the second phase includes 15 assembly seats in the Barak Valley. In the 2016 polls, BJP had bagged eight seats - six from Cachar district and two from bordering Karimganj district, which shares a boundary with Bangladesh
(With inputs from agencies)
