Congress Observers Monitor Assam Vote Count Amid Security Concerns

Assam Congress President Gaurav Gogoi said that the party has multiple observers across the state, which will be in touch with the AICC team, which will pass on any complaints to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

"We are hoping for a positive result in Assam. We will see the feedback the people have given us till the end in the number of votes, we will keep an eye on every round," Gogoi told reporters here.

"We have sent various observers across the state, so that we can see if there is any weakness from the administration then we will that information quickly," he added.

The party has sent various observers at the multiple counting centres, keeping a network of party workers to keep an eye on any attempt at malpractice.

"Now only the first round has happened, we have taken information from our party workers about the EVMs, whether there was any problem with transportation. We have monitoring centres in each zilla, district, with our people there. Our party has prepared everything," he said.

The Congress leader said that this is not a new thing for the party, as they had raised issue of unused EVMs being kept in stores without security.

"This is not a new thing, we have done this before too, we had gone to zillas, and saw how unused EVM's were kept without locks, and we had raised the issue after our people visited the spot. But such a situation should not arise in the first place. Our CLP leader has also seen these things," he said.

Gogoi, a Lok Sabha MP currently, has decided to make a debut in the Assam assembly by contest from Jorhat assembly constituency. He is looking unseat 4 time BJP MLA Hitendra nath Goswami.

Early trends show the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA alliance has achieved a massive lead over the Congress-led bloc with leads in 82 constituencies; meanwhile, the opposition alliance is ahead in 27. These figures have emerged after the Electronic Voting Machine counting began at 08:30 am.

In 2016, the Congress-led alliance, which had ruled the state since 2001 failed to retain power, allowing Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP to assume charge. The BJP is looking to retain power for a third term in the state.

Assam went to the polls in a single phase on April 9, with high voter turnout recorded. The BJP-led NDA is seeking a third consecutive term in the state, while the Congress has formed a six-party alliance to mount a strong challenge.

The Election Commission has set up 52 counting centres across 35 districts, including institutions such as Bodoland University, Bhattadev University, Nalbari College and Karimganj College. In several districts, including Lakhimpur and Sivasagar, multi-tier security arrangements have been deployed, with hundreds of officials overseeing the process to ensure transparency and smooth conduct.

- ANI