Guwahati:

If his fiery speeches draw crowds to meetings, it’s the ‘dancing’ skills of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that literally get the public on their feet.

With electioneering heating up in this Northeastern state where polling for the 14 Lok Sabha seats is scheduled in the first three phases on April 19, 26 and May 7, the BJP’s star campaigner is out with his dancing moves to attract voters.

As Mr Sarma campaigned across the Jorhat constituency on Saturday, he ended his meetings by dancing to the BJP’s theme song ‘Akou ebar Modi sorkar’ (Modi’s government, once more), inviting enthusiastic participation from the audience.

असम के माताओं, बहनो और बुज़ुर्गो में उमंग से साफ़ झलकता है कि उनकी पसंद सिर्फ आदरणीय श्री @narendramodi जी ही हैं।

जोरहाट लोक सभा#AbkiBaar400Parpic.twitter.com/8FkcU12XoV

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@himantabiswa) April 6, 2024

Be it at the end of the rally in Sivsagar or in Mariani, the CM sang and danced, while urging the public to join, who readily obliged and joined their leader from the stands.

Accompanied by clapping and occasional jumps with fists in the air, Mr Sarma’s trademark moves added energy to his campaign.

In his speeches, Mr Sarma outlined the various welfare measures of the BJP-led governments both at the Centre and the state, and exhorted the public to vote for PM Modi for a third successive term.

Sharing a video of his lively campaign dance on X on Friday with the public joining him from the stands, he wrote: “We are #ModiKaParivaar. Of course, we sing and dance in our rallies.” Mr Sarma’s dance moves had garnered much attention during the 2019 parliamentary elections when he had swung along the tunes of ‘Akou ebar Modi Sorkar’ and other BJP campaign songs on the dais and during roadshows.

The BJP has nine MPs in the outgoing Lok Sabha from Assam, which has been its best show in the state so far, with Mr Sarma exuding confidence of winning at least 13 seats this time.

The BJP is contesting in 11 seats, leaving two for its ally Asom Gana Parishad and one for United People’s Party Liberal. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati (Assam):

Polling for the Lok Sabha across 14 seats in Assam will be held in three phases, the Election Commission (EC) announced on Saturday.

Of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the electorally significant Northeast state, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Dhubri will be in focus going into the Lok Sabha elections.

Union Minister and former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal is the BJP candidate from Dibrugarh and is pitted against Lurin Jyoti Gogoi of the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), a coalition of 16 local Opposition outfits in the state.

In Jorhat, the ruling BJP has fielded sitting MP Topon Gogoi and standing against him will the deputy leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi.

In Dhubri, a Muslim-dominated constituency, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, who has been elected thrice from this seat, will go to battle against Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain. The BJP has set aside this seat to ruling ally in the state, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which has fielded Javed Islam.

The Guwahati seat will see a straight fight between Bijuli Kalita Medhi of the BJP and Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Barthakur Goswami.

In Nagaon, sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi will take on AIUDF candidate Aminul Islam and the BJP’s Suresh Bora.

In Kaziranga, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa will take on former Congress MLA Roselina Tirkey.

From Silchar, the BJP has fielded state Transport Minister Parimal Suklabaidya while sitting MLA Ranjit Dutta will contest Sonitpur on a BJP ticket.

The three-phased polling for the Lok Sabha in the state will be held on April 19, April 26 and May 7.

As part of a deal reached between the ruling allies in the state earlier, the BJP will contest 11 of 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the AGP will contest two seats (Barpeta and Dhubri) and the United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL) one (Kokrajhar).

More than 2.43 crore registered voters in the state, including 1.21 crore women, will exercise their franchise in the polling for the Lok Sabha.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)