Raijor Dal activists opposed the nomination withdrawal of Akhil Gogoi from Mariani constituency. The members of the party outbursts in anger after the central committee announced that the party president will withdraw his nomination from the constituency. The members claimed that it was after years that some relevant candidate has been selected for candidature from Mariani constituency and that they will not support his nomination withdrawal. The members claimed that it was after years that some relevant candidate has been selected for candidature from Mariani constituency and that they will not support his nomination withdrawal. The members demanded Gogoi not to withdraw his nomination. They also threatened that if Gogoi's nomination would be withdrawn, they will quit the party and that Akhil Gogoi would be excluded from the party.
Independent candidate from 73-Tezpur Jiten Borthakur has withdrawn his nomination for the assembly elections. Brother of Late MLA Rajen Borthakur, Jiten Borthakur claimed ticket from BJP but when he was rejected for the ticket by the party, he filed his nomination as an independent candidate. On the other hand, ten candidates' nominations have been rejected for the first phase of elections as the documents submitted were not valid.
Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh will visit Assam on March 14 to campaign for the upcoming assembly elections. The minister will participate in public rallies in Biswanath, Gohpur and Dergaon. Singh will campaign for Pramod Borthakur in Biswanath after which he will head on to Gohpur to campaign for Utpal Borah. He will then move to Dergaon to participate in the public rally to campaign for Bhaben Bharali of AGP. On the other hand, Minister of Textile Smriti Irani will also visit the poll-bound Assam on March 13. She will participate in three rallies to campaign for Ramani Tanti, Surabhi Rajkowari and Anil Saikia at Mariani, Sivasagar and Samaguri respectively.
A massive fire broke out at Gandhi Bhawan hostel in Gauhati University on Friday afternoon. The fire tender, police and university authorities reached the spot immediately. However the fire has been brought under control in time by the fire tenders. Properties worth lakhs of rupees have been damaged. No casualties have been reported yet. The reason of the fire is not yet known.
Assam Minister and NEDA Convener Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited Shiladitya Dev's residence in Hojai. The visit of Sarma is seen as a gesture to pacify Dev who resigned from the party on Thursday after he was denied ticket for the upcoming assembly elections. Sarma was accompanied by BJP General Secretary Dilip Saikia. Dev, who had won the Hojai seat in 2016 was denied ticket by BJP this time after which he tendered his resignation and decided to contest the election as an independent candidate. The BJP selected Ramakrishna Ghosh as the party candidate for Hojai constituency.
Just days ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, Congress leader Gautam Dhanowar on Thursday quit the party after being denied a ticket for Digboi constituency. He tendered his resignation to the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora through a letter. "I have no question regarding the MLA ticket of Digboi LAC. But I felt pain when the party hierarchy even did not bother to seek my opinion as to include me in any discussion for making winning strategies in Digboi LAC, though I held a portfolio in APCC," he wrote on Facebook. "Continuous meetings were being held in Guwahati Rajiv Bhawan, regarding Digboi seat, but I was neither informed nor asked to attend the meeting by Hapjan BCC," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will be holding a massive election campaign in the poll-bound states of Assam, West Bengal and Kerala starting next week till the end of the month. According to sources, the Prime Minister will hold election rallies in West Bengal's Purulia on March 18, Contai on March 20, and Bakura on March 21. Shah, on the other hand, will visit Bengal and Assam on March 14 and 15. After that, he will hold election rallies on March 17, 21 and 23 in Assam while in West Bengal, he will hold election rallies on March 19, 26 and 27. In between, on March 24 and 25, he will visit Kerala and hold elections rallies there.
Troops of Assam Rifles on Thursday arrested a drug peddler from Mizoram's Thuampai region and recovered 91 grams of heroin. Assam Rifles and excise & narcotics department jointly carried out the operation on the basis of specific inputs. The recovered heroin costs approximately Rs 41 lakh. It may be noted that there have been many such seizures in Mizoram, especially along the Indo-Myanmar border.
Guwahati Police on Friday recovered a huge sum of money in two separate operations. Acting on specific inputs, a total of Rs 12 lakh and 64 thousand were recovered in the operations conducted in the city. Out of the whole, nine lakh was seized from one Chanchal Chauhan and the rest three lakh 64 thousand was seized from one Tirtha Pratim Das hailing from Shantipur in the city. Both the accused were not able to state the source of the money. They have now been handed over to the Flying Squad along with the recovered cash.
Cash, liquor, drugs and valuables worth Rs 31.81 crore have been seized by various regulatory agencies in Assam after the model code of conduct came into effect in the poll-bound state, a senior election official said on Friday. Under the supervision of the Election Commission of India (ECI), round the clock vigilance is being maintained to enforce the expenditure monitoring directions of the poll panel for ensuring free, fair and safe assembly polls, Assam Chief Electoral Officer Nitin Khade said. Cash amounting to Rs 8.80 crore, liquor worth Rs 7.68 crore, gold and silver ornaments valued at Rs 1.46 crore have been seized after the polls were notified on February 26. Narcotic substances with a market value of Rs 10.18 crore were also seized, the official said. Foreign origin cigarettes, poppy seeds, contraband tablets were also confiscated, he said. Various regulatory agencies such as Excise, Police, DRI, NCB, SLBC (SBI) and Income Tax are working with regards to search and seizure.
In an unprecedented incident, a 46-years-old BJP leader was stabbed to death by alleged political rivals in Tinsukia's Bordumsa late Thursday. As per reports, the deceased was Devananda Gogoi, president of the BJP's Dumduma-Nagaon booth committee. He was allegedly stabbed by a youth while he was gardening in the backyard of his residence. Gogoi was critically injured and was rushed to a government hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The reason for the attack, whether political or personal, is not yet ascertained. Police said investigation is underway.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was admitted to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata after suffering injuries in Nandigram, was discharged on Friday. "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has responded well to the treatment. The six-member board has re-examined her health condition. We have opened the plaster cast. Fresh plaster has been applied. She has been discharged with appropriate instructions, after her repeated requests. She has been advised to revisit after seven days," the medical board of the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata told reporters. Banerjee, who was on a two-day visit to Nandigram from where she filed her nomination on Wednesday, alleged that she was pushed by a few unidentified people during election campaigning. Banerjee sustained "severe bone injuries" on her left foot and ankle as well as bruises and injuries on her shoulder, forearm and neck, according to the report of her initial medical examination.
On the 91st anniversary of the historic "Dandi March", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Friday that India is becoming increasingly "chained by authoritarian forces led by the RSS" and urged people to be guided by Mahatma Gandhi"s example to continue with the march for freedom. On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi started his march from the Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi in Gujarat to break the salt-tax law imposed by the British. It was an act of civil disobedience to protest against British rule in India. "Gandhiji"s Dandi March gave a bold message of freedom to the entire world," Rahul Gandhi said in a Facebook post.
Sahitya Akademi on Friday announced its winners for the annual 'Sahitya Akademi Awards 2020′, the function of which will be held at a later date. According to an official release, seven books of poetry, Four of novel, Five of short stories, two plays – one each of Memoirs and Epic poetry have won the award this year. They were recommended by distinguished Jury members in 20 Indian languages and approved by the Executive Board of Sahitya Akademi. From the northeast, Apurba Kumar Saikia has bagged the award for his short story 'Bengsata', Dwijen Das for 'Megh-Ghora' (poetry), Newton K. Basumatary for 'Abwi-Abou Arw Ang (poetry), Madhurima Gharphalia for 'Phosong' (short stories), Naorem Bidyasagar for 'Uchan Meira' (poetry), Ajit Bodo for 'Gothasa Bisombi (essays) and Rameshwar Sharongbam for 'Kairaba Chaphu Machet' (poetry).
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari filed his nomination on Friday from the Nandigram seat. Adhikari, who defected from Trinamool Congress (TMC) in December last year, will be fighting the upcoming assembly elections against TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. After leading a-km-long roadshow, accompanied by Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani, Adhikari filed his papers at the sub-divisional office in Haldia. Adhikari switched over to the BJP in December and is up against the chief minister who decided to challenge him at his home ground. Adhikari won the Nandigram seat as a TMC candidate in 2016 by bagging over 67 per cent of the votes, defeating his nearest rival of the CPI by a margin of 81,230 votes, reported PTI.
