Guwahati West to witness triangular contest

Guwahati, Apr 1: Congress, BJP and AGP will fight it out in the prestigious Guwahati West assembly constituency in the city on April 3.

The ruling Congress has fielded former city mayor, Mrs Nilkashi Talukdar, the BJP its spokesman Ashokananda Singhal, while the AGP has given ticket to former minister Ramendra Narayan Kalita. The seat was held by Mrs Talukdar's husband Hemanta.

Although there are seven candidates in the fray, the battle will mainly be between the three major parties.

Over 2,33,000 voters will excercise their franchise on Monday.

Though the three major nominees are formidable in their own right, Mr Singhal believes his chances are bright, as he claimed, the constituency had not seen much development in the last 20 years.

The BJP for its campaign flew in a battery of central leaders, including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Promod Mahajan, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda and filmstar-turned-politician Hema Malini, among others.

The AGP and Congress candidates also brought in party stalwarts to campaign for them.

Others in the fray are Ram Kumar Das(AGP-P), Rohini Kumar Das (AUDF), Nazidul Islam (Nava Bharat Nirman Party) and Bijoy Krishna Nath (Independent).

UNI