Assembly Elections 2016: Know your state-- Assam

Elections in Assam are scheduled to be held in two phases. Polling for the first phase will be held on April 4. Second phase polling on April 11. Poll results will be declared on 19th May.

Assam's 13th legislative assembly is ruled by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi- led Indian National Congress. It has 126 assembly seats.

In 2011 assembly elections the Congress had a landslide victory winning 79 seats, AIUDF-18, BPF- 12, Asom Gana Parishad-9, BJP -5, and Independents-2 seats.

[Know Your Leader Profile: Tarun Gogoi-Indian National Congress]

Let's take a look at the various statistics of the poll-bound state:

State: ASSAM

Important Dates for 2016 Assembly Elections :

Date of Issue of Gazette Notification: March 11, 14

Last Date for Nominations: March 18, 21

Date for Scrutiny of Nominations: March 19, 22

Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: March 21, 26

Date of polling: April 4, 11

Tenure of present government ends on June 5, 2016

Results: May 19

Number of assembly constituencies: 126 [102-General, 8-Scheduled Caste, 16 -Scheduled Tribes]

[List of 126 constituencies]

Parliamentary Constituencies: 14

Ruling Party: Indian National Congress

Opposition Party: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF)

Governor: Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya

Chief Electoral Officer: Shri Vijayendra

Total voters this year: 1.98 crore

Polling booths: 24,888

2011 Results (Party-wise): Major political parties that had contested in 2011 Assam assembly polls were Congress, AIUDF, BJP, BPF and AGP

INC-79

AIUDF- 18

BPF- 12

Asom Gana Parishad-9

BJP -5

All India Trinamool Congress- 1

Independents-2

[Assam Assembly Polls 2011 Results]

[Assam Assembly Polls 2006 Results]

Facts:

• For the upcoming elections BJP has entered into an alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), however news of infighting over seat-sharing has presented new challenges for both partners.

• Rebel BJP leaders have formed an outfit called Trinamool BJP and declared candidate names for 24 assembly seats which the BJP has assigned to the AGP.

• The BJP has promised that if elected it will deprive illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants of their voting rights, which accounts for 10 per cent of voters in the state. Assam houses the largest number of Muslims in India, with 34.4 per cent of the state population as per 2011 census.

• The Congress has put up huge hoardings of Kanhaiya Kumar, President of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union in Guwahati depicting him in in jail. Kumar is likely to campaign for Left parties in Assam.