Guwahati: Voting for the two crucial Rajya Sabha seats began at 9 am today and will conclude at 4 pm.
The first vote was cast by BPF MLA Durgadas Bodo in favour of UPPL and BJP alliance candidate Rangaura Narzary.
Siddhartha Bhattacharya was the first BJP MLA to cast vote.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma has reached Assembly to cast his vote in favour of BJP candidate Pabitra Margherita.
While the victory of BJP candidate Pabitra Margherita is almost confirmed in one seat, all eyes will be on the contest for the second seat where UPPL candidate Rangaura Narzary is locking horns with Congress candidate Ripun Bora.
While Congress MLA Sashikanta Das has outrightly extended support for the ruling dispensation, it is yet to be seen whether Narzary can manage to secure the votes of two more MLAs from the opposition.
Earlier, the opposition Congress had accused All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) of “selling” five of its lawmakers to benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the elections to two Rajya Sabha seats.
In Assam, a candidate needs 43 votes to get elected. BJP and its allies have 83 out of 126 votes in the assembly. Congress (26), AIUDF (15), CPI (M), and Raijor Dal have 43 votes.
The suspense will be broken only at 6 PM today when the results are finally out.
Worth mentioning is that both the ruling alliance as well as the opposition-held crucial party meetings last night ahead of the polls.
While Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma chaired a key meeting with BJP MLAs until midnight, the Congress too held marathon meetings to discuss on the Rajya Sabha polls.
