Election 2021: Winners are the voters: Letters to The Editor

The voters have delivered their verdict. That too very loud and clear. A mandate for development and performance. It is the credit of the voters who have made up their mind by choosing the best amongst the available options. Compliments to them, who, spoilt for choice with guarantees galore from all the main political formations, have once again performed their democratic duty diligently to vote for a prosperous future. Burning issues like CAA, jobs and development having already exercised their minds, the entry of new parties promising protection from identity crisis must have made the decision of voters difficult. Thanks to their political maturity, they could discern the game plan of political parties and opted to go with candidates who can secure a bright future for Assam and its identity, language, culture and history.

Unfortunately, lost prominence in the highly charged and polarized election rhetoric are some perennial issues like infiltration problem, floods in Assam, the revival of two paper mills etc., which got overshadowed due to petty political issues targeted at individual politicians. The new government can ill afford to ignore these.

Rajib Sarma,

Guwahati.

Vaccination chaos

India is a big country and it requires a lot of planning to vaccinate the entire population. The government should have known it after last year's experience. Still, its knee-jerk reactions have put the public into a state of confusion and inconvenience. First, the vaccination for senior citizens is announced and then, the people above 45 years are asked to line up, but even before 10 per cent of them have been vaccinated, the government issues another order to vaccinate shortage and inadequate centres for the same. And to add to the confusion, there are different prices for the vaccines. Why can't the government plan first, and then issue orders?

Chandan Kumar Nath

Sorbhog.

Harsh reality

The eagerly awaited results of the Legislative Assembly polls in the State bought us some undeniable harsh facts. As predicted by the exit polls of various agencies, the 'Mitrajoot' comprising the BJP, the AGP and the UPPL emerged victorious. The two newly formed regional political parties namely the AJP and the Raijor Dal failed miserably to impress the voters. Firebrand Lurinjyoti Gogoi bit the dust in both the constituencies as well as his other party colleagues. The CAA issue on which Lurinjyoti Gogoi and company fought the elections has been blown off by the public. Another aspect that went against the AJP and the Raijor Dal is the misinformation they spread in regards to the CAA. And accordingly, conscious indigenous voters punished them severely. The 'Mahajoot' of the Congress and the AIUDF did splendidly well in minority-dominated districts of Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri, Nagaon, Morigaon and parts of Darrang. In constituencies where friendly fights were resorted to by the Congress and the AIUDF, the latter gained the advantage. The voters of these constituencies have an alien culture and a majority of them do not have any loyalty to the Constitution of India. Besides, these constituencies are reportedly hotbeds of the 90 per cent of crimes happening in the State.

Aparna Sarma Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Of the alliance between Congress & AIUDF

The Congress managed to secure just five seats in upper Assam in the just-concluded Assembly elections in the State. The Congress managed to win only the seats of Naoboicha, Titabor, Mariani, Nazira and Thowra. The winning margin in Nazira -- a stronghold of the Congress -- was less than 1,000 votes. In 2019, the anti-CAA movement had a massive impact in upper Assam with instances of many BJP MLAs and workers forced to flee or hide in some places. At that time, nobody would have imagined this result. The Congress had the chance to tap that anti-CAA wave but they dug their own grave by aligning with the AIUDF -- a party born to reportedly protect the interests of the Bangladeshi infiltrators. We all saw and heard the communal speeches of AIUDF leaders. Many Congress leaders from upper Assam protested against the decision of the party's central leadership to forge alliance with AIUDF -- the party of Badruddin Ajmal; but, their voice was suppressed. The top leadership of Congress was focusing on the Muslim votes; but in the process the party lost the trust of the indigenous people of the State. The poll results declared on May 2 amply demonstrates this fact. The mindset of Congress has to change. The party must stop its appeasement policy towards the minorities; and most importantly, sever its links with the Ajmal brigade.

Purabi Miri,

Jakhalabandha

Akhil Gogoi

'Raijor Dal' president Akhil Gogoi has rewritten poll history in Assam by becoming the first jailed candidate to win the prestigious Sivasagar constituency. He had contested from jail and won the seat. It demonstrates his popularity among the masses.

Putul Sarma,

Biswanath Chariali.

Who pulled down Lurinjyoti Gogoi?

The AJP is born from AASU and AJYCP's womb and with advice from a few 'intellectuals' of the State. The AJP leaders dreamt of the 1880s scene when the AGP stormed into power just three months after its birth. The ground reality is completely different from the 1980s to 2021. People are more educated, conscious in the present world. The AJP scored blank and now those associated with the birth of the party are hiding. Where are those intellectuals, top leaders of AASU, AJYCP? As we say, there are no fathers of failures. Lurinjyoti Gogoi has been made a scapegoat. He led a group of seasonal birds in AJP. He lost convincingly in both the seats he contested.

What little knowledge I have gathered is that Lurinjyoti Gogoi was betrayed by Dipankar Nath, Palash Changmai, and some intellectuals with ulterior motives. Another lesson that Lurinjyoti Gogoi should learn is that shouting on the streets with thousands doesn't mean that you have become a leader.

Winning elections and shouting on the streets, staging dharnas, bandhs, etc are completely different.

Pratap Dutta,

Tezpur.

Problem of noise pollution

I would like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned towards the increasing problem of noise pollution. It is having adverse effects on the health of the populace. It leads to irritation of eyes, loss of sleep and also peace. Frequent loud noise affects the working efficiency of people while persistent noise pollution causes a loss of sense of hearing.

The increasing number of vehicles on the roads, mushrooming of factories, rise of construction work, use of loudspeakers on various occasions are among various factors responsible for causing noise pollution. In most of the instances, noise-control laws are being openly violated.

It is time that the authorities should initiate steps to control noise pollution. They should strictly enforce the noise-control laws. The use of loudspeakers should be stopped after a specific time. Above all, the public needs to be aware and cooperative against the dangers of noise pollution. It is earnestly hoped that the authorities concerned will take immediate and urgent necessary action to relieve the masses from the harmful effects of noise pollution.

Madhuparna Mitra,

madhutinni04@gmail.com

Role of ECI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has done a commendable job despite getting rap from the Madras High Court during the pandemic crisis. The ECI has successfully managed to hold elections despite the mammoth challenge of the pandemic crisis. Voters, on the other hand, need to be appreciated that despite such a crisis, they have successfully cast their ballots and elected the most deserving candidates across polling States.

It also a welcome reprieve that the ECI had to ban election victory rallies to contain the spread of COVID-19 in such a crisis. The ECI should now focus on an innovative strategy to conduct polls amidst such crises. It should adopt innovative measures with the help of technology to conduct free-and-fair elections, including voter list generation, polling process including filing and withdrawal of nomination papers, the announcement of poll results, etc.

Varun Dambal,

Bangalore.

Big bazaar

A by-weekly bazar is held on Thursday and Sunday at Biswanath Chariali. The bazar is full of articles and various and different commodities. People throng here from different places and nearby areas to sell and purchase different needy articles.

Recently, I observed that purchasers mostly wear masks but sellers mostly do not wear masks. Again some people have a habit of spitting here and there. Now I would like to request through your esteemed daily the civil as well as police administration to look into this matter and take appropriate measures.

Putul Sarma,

Biswanath Chariali,

The 'NOTA' option

One of the highlights of the Assam Assembly Election-2021 was the increase in the number of voters choosing NOTA. It is said that 2,19,578 voters opted for NOTA (None of The Above). The Assam Assembly election recorded 1,91,76,847 votes. Percentage-wise, 1.14 per cent of voters opted for the NOTA. Voters do not prefer to vote for inefficient and dishonest candidates. Nor should the political parties assume that the voters would not judge the calibre and other qualities of the candidates contesting an election. The present-day voters are mature enough, and they know to whom they should vote. As such, the political parties should only nominate such candidates that are both efficient and honest. The political parties must be capable to judge the mood of voters. As long as the inefficient and dishonest candidates contest elections, the number of voters opting for the 'NOTA' option will go on increasing.

Maheswar Deka,

Rangia.

One-man army

The much-awaited and long-debated poll results are out; and, as forecast by the political pundits the NDA returned to the hot seat and the alliance of the Congress and the AIUDF were rejected. All Assam-loving people will acknowledge the role played by Himanta Biswa Sarma for the 'Mitrajoot' helping it to storm back into power. He carried out poll campaigns throughout the State -- right from Sadiya to Dhubri -- and, the response he received from the public was almost like a tsunami. Meanwhile, Ripun Bora and company after their holiday in Dichang Resort are yet to recover from the huge uppercut from the chief strategist of BJP. Himanta Biswa Sarma is really a one-man army.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.