Campaigning for the third and final phase of polling in four Lok Sabha seats of Assam ended at 4 PM on Sunday.

Polling will be held in Kokrajhar (ST), Dhubri, Barpeta and Gauhati constituencies on Tuesday to decide the fate of 54 candidates, including nine women.

The ruling BJP concentrated on the initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to develop Assam and the Northeastern region, including the inauguration of three bridges in the state.

The opposition Congress and other parties highlighted the BJP's attempt to bring in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the alleged failure of the Modi government to fulfill the promises made before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Campaigning for the third phase was relatively low key though Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned for the BJP's Gauhati candidate Queen Oja on April 11. Most of the campaigning was done by state unit leaders.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP state president Ranjeet Dass, Assam

Pradesh Congress president Ripun Bora, leader of the opposition in the state assembly Debabrata Saikia participated in the campaign trail.

The highlight of the third phase campaign was the road shows by candidates of different parties.

State minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stole the show in most of the meetings and road shows with his dance moves on BJP's theme song 'Akou Ebar Modi Sarkar' (Modi Sarkar, once more), sung by popular Assamese singer Simanta Shekhar.

The campaign for this phase was mostly characterised by public rallies, roadside meetings and door-to-door visits.

There are two sitting MPs-AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal in Dhubri and independent Naba Sarania in Kokrajhar- besides state social welfare minister Pramila Rani Brahma of the BPF in Kokrajhar and Congress MLA Abdul Khaleque in the fray.

An electorate of 77,0622, including 38,15,335 men, 36,61,570 women and 157 of the third gender, will be eligible to exercise their franchise in 9,577 polling booths.&nbsp;

Campaigning for the third and final phase of polling in four Lok Sabha seats of Assam ended at 4 PM on Sunday. Polling will be held in Kokrajhar (ST), Dhubri, Barpeta and Gauhati constituencies on Tuesday to decide the fate of 54 candidates, including nine women.

Campaigning for the third and final phase of polling in four Lok Sabha seats of Assam ended at 4 PM on Sunday. Polling will be held in Kokrajhar (ST), Dhubri, Barpeta and Gauhati constituencies on Tuesday to decide the fate of 54 candidates, including nine women. The ruling BJP concentrated on the initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to develop Assam and the Northeastern region, including the inauguration of three bridges in the state. The opposition Congress and other parties highlighted the BJP's attempt to bring in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the alleged failure of the Modi government to fulfill the promises made before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Campaigning for the third phase was relatively low key though Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned for the BJP's Gauhati candidate Queen Oja on April 11. Most of the campaigning was done by state unit leaders. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP state president Ranjeet Dass, Assam Pradesh Congress president Ripun Bora, leader of the opposition in the state assembly Debabrata Saikia participated in the campaign trail. The highlight of the third phase campaign was the road shows by candidates of different parties. State minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stole the show in most of the meetings and road shows with his dance moves on BJP's theme song 'Akou Ebar Modi Sarkar' (Modi Sarkar, once more), sung by popular Assamese singer Simanta Shekhar. The campaign for this phase was mostly characterised by public rallies, roadside meetings and door-to-door visits. There are two sitting MPs-AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal in Dhubri and independent Naba Sarania in Kokrajhar- besides state social welfare minister Pramila Rani Brahma of the BPF in Kokrajhar and Congress MLA Abdul Khaleque in the fray. An electorate of 77,0622, including 38,15,335 men, 36,61,570 women and 157 of the third gender, will be eligible to exercise their franchise in 9,577 polling booths.

Campaign ends for third phase polling in Assam

A statue of Bhartiya Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee was found vandalised in Kokrajhar town of Assam today, police said.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal strongly condemned the incident and said the government would not tolerate such acts.

The face of Mukherjee&#39;s statue at Rabindra Nagar area of the town was found damaged this morning. The locals immediately informed the police.

Korajhar Deputy Commissioner Niranjan Baruah, who rushed to the spot along with Superintendent of Police Rajen Singh, told newsmen that the statue was damaged apparently with a hammer and stones by miscreants in the early hours.

&#39;&#39;Such acts of vandalism will not be tolerated,&#39;&#39; he said.

The Kokrajhar SP said stern action would be taken against the miscreants.

In a statement in Guwahati, the chief minister directed the Kokrajhar deputy commissioner and superintendent of police to take stern action and book the miscreants under relevant provisions of law.

He also directed the administration to step up the vigil and take all measures to prevent such vandalism.

Executive members of the Bodoland Territorial Council-- Doneswar Goyari and Rajib Kumar Brahma also condemned the incident.

President of United People&#39;s Party-Liberal, U G Brahma demanded stern action against the miscreants.

A bust of Mukherjee was vandalised on March 7 in Kolkata by seven persons, including a woman, allegedly belonging to a left-wing group.

The accused were arrested from the spot. They had told a TV channel that they defaced and vandalised the Jan Sangh founder&#39;s bust to protest against the pulling down of communist icon Lenin&#39;s statues in Tripura.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal strongly condemned the incident and said the government would not tolerate such acts.

A statue of Bhartiya Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee was found vandalised in Kokrajhar town of Assam today, police said. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal strongly condemned the incident and said the government would not tolerate such acts. The face of Mukherjee's statue at Rabindra Nagar area of the town was found damaged this morning. The locals immediately informed the police. Korajhar Deputy Commissioner Niranjan Baruah, who rushed to the spot along with Superintendent of Police Rajen Singh, told newsmen that the statue was damaged apparently with a hammer and stones by miscreants in the early hours. ''Such acts of vandalism will not be tolerated,'' he said. The Kokrajhar SP said stern action would be taken against the miscreants. In a statement in Guwahati, the chief minister directed the Kokrajhar deputy commissioner and superintendent of police to take stern action and book the miscreants under relevant provisions of law. He also directed the administration to step up the vigil and take all measures to prevent such vandalism. Executive members of the Bodoland Territorial Council-- Doneswar Goyari and Rajib Kumar Brahma also condemned the incident. President of United People's Party-Liberal, U G Brahma demanded stern action against the miscreants. A bust of Mukherjee was vandalised on March 7 in Kolkata by seven persons, including a woman, allegedly belonging to a left-wing group. The accused were arrested from the spot. They had told a TV channel that they defaced and vandalised the Jan Sangh founder's bust to protest against the pulling down of communist icon Lenin's statues in Tripura.

Syama Prasad Mukherjee's statue vandalised in Assam

Attackers wearing military uniforms shot dead at least 14 people and wounded 15 today in a busy market area in a town in India&#39;s restive northeastern state of Assam, in an attack blamed by the authorities on a regional separatist group. 
 
The gunmen fired indiscriminately and threw hand grenades at the crowded weekly market in Kokrajhar, a town 220 km (137 miles) by road west of the state&#39;s commercial capital Guwahati, eyewitnesses said. 
 
One assailant was killed and security forces were in pursuit of three or four others hiding in a nearby forest, Assam police chief Mukesh Sahay told reporters. 
 
Sahay said police had recovered an AK-47 rifle and explosives from the dead gunman, as well as a three-wheeler van the assailants had arrived in. 
 
He blamed the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) group, a militant outfit fighting for a separate homeland for the indigenous Bodo tribespeople.&nbsp; 
 
The dead gunman was yet to be identified, said Sahay. 
 
A senior home ministry official in New Delhi said preliminary reports indicated the attack, one of the deadliest in recent years in a region with a history of sectarian and separatist bloodshed, was carried out by the group. 
 
&quot;Police have launched a hunt to trace insurgents hiding near the incident spot. It is a militant attack and we will be sending a team from Delhi to investigate further,&quot; the official said. 
 
However, there was no claim of responsibility for the attack. 
 
Home ministry in touch with Assam government&nbsp; 
 
Asserting that he was saddened by the deadly terrorist attack in Kokrajhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families and the injured. 
 
&quot;Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts &amp; prayers with the bereaved families &amp; those injured,&quot; the Prime Minister said in a series of tweets. 
 
He further said that the home ministry is in touch with the Assam government and is monitoring the situation closely. 
 
Expressing concern over the sorry state of affairs, &nbsp;Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal told ANI, &nbsp;&quot;Our government is committed to protection of people of Assam.&quot; &nbsp; 
 
Senior officials were directed to rush to the spot, he mentioned. &nbsp;He added ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh will be given to next of kin of people who died, while Rs1 lakh would be given for the injured.&nbsp; 
 
Meanwhile, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval also met Sonowal.&nbsp; 
 
Assam finance minister Hemant Bishwar told ANI that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Police and paramilitary forces are conducting a joint combing operation to neutralise remaining extremists. He said that the army has been kept at standby and will be called if necessary.&nbsp; 
 
Assam has suffered years of tribal insurgencies&nbsp; 
 
Assam, a remote and underdeveloped state, has suffered from years of ethnic and tribal insurgencies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won power in a state election in May for the first time after pledging to increase spending in the state. 
 
&quot;This attack is intended to destabilise peace in Assam,&quot; said Sarma.&nbsp; 
 
Violence in Assam and wider northeast has fallen as more militant groups have called ceasefires, although attacks by one community against another are not uncommon. 
 
Militants fighting for a Bodo homeland killed at least 70 people, most of them tea-plantation workers from other parts of India, in a series of attacks in Assam in late 2014. 
 
(Agencies) 
&nbsp;

Assam police chief blamed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) for carrying out one of the deadliest attacks in recent years

Attackers wearing military uniforms shot dead at least 14 people and wounded 15 today in a busy market area in a town in India's restive northeastern state of Assam, in an attack blamed by the authorities on a regional separatist group. The gunmen fired indiscriminately and threw hand grenades at the crowded weekly market in Kokrajhar, a town 220 km (137 miles) by road west of the state's commercial capital Guwahati, eyewitnesses said. One assailant was killed and security forces were in pursuit of three or four others hiding in a nearby forest, Assam police chief Mukesh Sahay told reporters. Sahay said police had recovered an AK-47 rifle and explosives from the dead gunman, as well as a three-wheeler van the assailants had arrived in. He blamed the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) group, a militant outfit fighting for a separate homeland for the indigenous Bodo tribespeople. The dead gunman was yet to be identified, said Sahay. A senior home ministry official in New Delhi said preliminary reports indicated the attack, one of the deadliest in recent years in a region with a history of sectarian and separatist bloodshed, was carried out by the group. "Police have launched a hunt to trace insurgents hiding near the incident spot. It is a militant attack and we will be sending a team from Delhi to investigate further," the official said. However, there was no claim of responsibility for the attack. Home ministry in touch with Assam government Asserting that he was saddened by the deadly terrorist attack in Kokrajhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families and the injured. "Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured," the Prime Minister said in a series of tweets. He further said that the home ministry is in touch with the Assam government and is monitoring the situation closely. Expressing concern over the sorry state of affairs, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal told ANI, "Our government is committed to protection of people of Assam." Senior officials were directed to rush to the spot, he mentioned. He added ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh will be given to next of kin of people who died, while Rs1 lakh would be given for the injured. Meanwhile, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval also met Sonowal. Assam finance minister Hemant Bishwar told ANI that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Police and paramilitary forces are conducting a joint combing operation to neutralise remaining extremists. He said that the army has been kept at standby and will be called if necessary. Assam has suffered years of tribal insurgencies Assam, a remote and underdeveloped state, has suffered from years of ethnic and tribal insurgencies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won power in a state election in May for the first time after pledging to increase spending in the state. "This attack is intended to destabilise peace in Assam," said Sarma. Violence in Assam and wider northeast has fallen as more militant groups have called ceasefires, although attacks by one community against another are not uncommon. Militants fighting for a Bodo homeland killed at least 70 people, most of them tea-plantation workers from other parts of India, in a series of attacks in Assam in late 2014. (Agencies)

Three gunmen open fire at market in India's Assam, at least 14 dead

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