Continued from P1

In Assam, the campaign centred around Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s governance record and the Congress challenge led by Gaurav Gogoi.

The run-up to polls saw allegations and counter-allegations between the BJP and Congress, leading to a political slugfest.

The Election Commission has said it is fully prepared to conduct free, fair and peaceful polling in Assam, with webcasting enabled at all polling stations and security forces deployed across sensitive areas. Over 2.5 crore voters are eligible to cast their vote in the state.

In Puducherry, campaigning has also concluded for the 30-member Assembly, where 294 candidates are contesting. The Union Territory has over 9.5 lakh voters.

The April 9 voting marks the first leg of a wider election cycle, with Tamil Nadu set to vote on April 23 and West Bengal going to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29.