The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has formed seven special monitoring teams ahead of the counting of votes for the Assam Assembly elections scheduled on May 4. The move comes amid preparations by the party to ensure transparency and proper security arrangements during the counting process across the state.
According to an official statement issued by the party on Thursday, the decision was taken after discussions between AICC general secretary and Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh and APCC president Gaurav Gogoi.
The teams have been tasked with visiting districts from April 25 onwards to inspect strongrooms where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are stored, interact with party candidates, and hold meetings with district administrations to review arrangements related to the counting process.
The Election Commission had earlier stated that Assam recorded a voter turnout of 85.96 per cent in the April 9 Assembly polls, with nearly 2.50 crore voters exercising their franchise.
For Upper Assam, the committee includes Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia along with Raju Sahu, Utpal Gogoi, Rajkumar Nilanetra Neog, David Phukan and Mrityunjay Duwarah. The team will oversee preparations in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts.
The North Bank districts will be monitored by a team led by former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora. Other members include Ghana Burhagohain, J P Das, Shailen Sonowal, Kartik Kurmi, Shankar Kutum, Meghanath Chettri and Bipul Bora.
In Central Assam and the hill districts, the APCC has assigned responsibilities to Shibamani Bora, Diganta Barman, Satyabrata Kalita, Mira Borthakur Goswami, Swapan Kar, Mrinal Hazarika, Akram Hussain, Nirmal Langthasa, Ratan Engti, Augustine Enghi, Ashok Teron, Pallav Chetia and Charlanki Engti. Their areas of responsibility include Hojai, Nagaon, Morigaon, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nalbari, Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.
For Lower Assam, Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain along with Pradip Sarkar, A K Rashid Alam, Deep Bayan, Gajendra Upamanyu, Arun Tiwari and Mustafa Khaddam Hussain will supervise arrangements in Barpeta, Bongaigaon, South Salmara-Mankachar, Dhubri, Goalpara and Bajali districts.
The Barak Valley team comprises Ajit Singh, Abhijit Paul, Aminul Islam, Biswajit Ghosh, Badrul Borbhuyan, Papon Dev, Pradip Gowala and Hussain Ahmed Choudhury.
For the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), the APCC has appointed Mehedi Alam Bora, Buddhadev Phandanggari, Chohen Brahma, Bhabanath Nath, Stephen Lakra, Umesh Deka, Dipak Kalita and Satya Nath Kalita to monitor the situation and coordinate with local authorities.
