Assam may have two phase poll

Addressing media persons, Mahanta said that in his meeting with Chief Election Commissioner M S Gill and Election Commissioner G M Lyndgoh had been urged to hold first phase of polling on February 16 as scheduled and next phase on February 24.

Mahanta also put into relief the extent of harm caused to the economy and its progress dueto the continued militancy and regretted that hardly any significant investment had come in private sector. Mahanta said the State Government proposed four specific measures to provide much needed relief to the grim financial scenario and curb terrorists in Assam. He urged the Centre to provide immediate reimbursement of security related expenditure of Rs 195.42 crore incurred by the state during 1995-96 and 1996-97.

On the party front, the ULFA 8220;ban8221; on the elections, a split in the party by former colleague Bhrigu Kumar Phukan, and All-Assam Students8217; Union8217;s AASU decision directing its members to keep away from the election process, have together pushed Mahanta8217;s AGP into a very very tight corner.A party rally held at Hajo near here, attended by Farooq Abdullah and H S Surjeet, turned out to be a poor show with the ULFA cadres ensuring that the people did not turn up.

Similarly in Nagaon and Mangaldoi, where the AGP hs fielded Jayashree Goswami Mahanta Chief Minister8217;s wife and Union SteelMinister Birendra Prasad Baishya respectively, too, the party8217;s grass-roots level workers have been increasingly threatened.

One AGP worker was shot dead in Nagaon a few weeks ago by ULFA activists. Half-a-dozen party workers were abducted and later released after being beaten up, on Monday.

Significantly, the ULFA8217;s ban might only affect the AGP, going by the fact that the militant group does not have much hold in pockets inhabited by the minorities and the tea labourers, both the communities traditionally constituting the vote bank of the Congress.