Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday exercised his franchise at Amingaon in Barpeta Lok Sabha seat during the ongoing third and last phase of polls in the state.
The chief minister, accompanied by his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma and daughter Sukanya Sarma, cast his vote at the polling station of Amingaon High School.
“People have come out in large numbers to participate in the electoral process in the last phase of voting in Assam. More than 80 per cent turnout was recorded in the first two phases and I am sure that would be repeated today,” he told reporters after casting his vote.
He thanked the people of Assam for ensuring “peaceful and matured participation in democracy, proving that they can turn the occasion into a festival”.
Reacting to RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav’s call for quotas for Muslims, the Assam CM said, “His statement vindicated our apprehension that the Congress and INDIA bloc were trying to distort reservations to facilitate back-door entry of Muslims.”
Sarma said Assam has witnessed enthusiasm among youth and elderly alike for the elections and this “euphoria is centred around the unprecedented development in the last decade”.
The chief minister represents Jalukbari assembly constituency, a part of which has been realigned with Barpeta Lok Sabha seat following the delimitation exercise in the state last year.
He said that after a long time, he did not cast his vote on the BJP’s ‘lotus’ symbol as the NDA constituent Asom Gana Parishad fielded its candidate Phani Bhushan Choudhury in the seat.
Sarma said he will campaign in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh from May 9 as per the schedule decided by the party. Polling is underway in four constituencies in the third and final phase of polls in Assam.
