On Thursday, officials stated that at least thirty people were injured, and seven were arrested, due to a number of disagreements relating to the election throughout Assam. The fighting interrupted voting in various districts, temporarily stopped voting at one location, and caused police to fire warning shots in one place to break up the crowds.
Clashes and disruptions across Assam constituencies
The worst fight happened at the Rangamati voting place in Patharkandi, Sribhumi district. A leading police officer said Kartik Sena Sinha, the Congress candidate, went into the voting place and argued with the person in charge because he claimed fake voters were pretending to be other people.
The officer wouldn’re agree with this claim, and Sinha reportedly broke the electronic voting machine. Then supporters of the Congress and the BJP started fighting, and about 25 people were hurt. Two of those hurt were seriously injured and taken to Karimganj Civil Hospital.
Sinha is competing directly against Krishnendu Paul, the BJP candidate and current minister in Assam. Police say Sinha left during all the confusion. No one has been arrested relating to this incident yet, but an investigation is happening.
Voting suspension and security response
Voting at the Rangamati place was stopped for almost three hours while election workers got a new electronic voting machine. After it was swapped, voting started again and the police added more officers to the area. Leena Doley, the Senior Superintendent of Police in Sribhumi, went to the location and checked the security plans.
Officials said they quickly replaced the voting machine and had a lot of police visible so people would have faith in the voting process and so fewer interruptions would happen during voting hours.
Confrontation in Dibrugarh leaves AJP leaders injured
In the Khowang area of Dibrugarh district, a different fight injured three leaders from the Assam Jatiya Parishad after a fight with BJP supporters. Police said AJP workers went to a house with police help, because they believed an IT team was working from there.
A strong disagreement turned into a physical fight, and Samudra Barua, Swakhyar Borgohain, and Chitrakamal Handique (leaders of the AJP) were injured. Gaurav Abhijit Dilip, the Senior Superintendent of Police in Dibrugarh, said the building seemed to be a party office. He added that the authorities are looking into what they were doing there and, at this time, no one has been arrested.
Overnight tensions in Tamulpur and Sivasagar
A few hours before voting began at 7 am, police dealt with trouble in Tamulpur. Akhilesh Kumar Singh, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), said officers got there quickly and fired a few shots in the air to get the crowds to disperse. Four people were arrested at the scene.
In Sivasagar, another event targeted people in a political party, which caused police to hold three people. Singh said investigations are continuing in both of these cases. Akhil Gogoi, who is trying to be re-elected from Sibsagar, said Kushal Dowari, the BJP candidate, was responsible for the attack in Sivasagar. The authorities have not confirmed this.
Hagrama Mohilary, the Head Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council, said things in Tamulpur have gone back to normal and promised a thorough investigation into what caused the fight. He also said security has been increased to stop more problems.
Minor skirmishes and crowd management challenges
Aside from these major problems, officials reported smaller fights at many voting places across a number of districts. Many of these were because of too many people in one place, or arguments about people cutting in line. Police at these locations quickly stepped in to calm things down, and most were resolved without anyone being seriously hurt.
The authorities have said that even though there was some violence, most of the voting places worked without major issues. More police patrols remained active all day in places that could be a problem to stop further fights between people who support different parties.
Election integrity measures and ongoing probes
Election officials have stressed that broken equipment was replaced quickly to keep the vote fair. Security was reviewed at the places with problems, and high-ranking officers visited the troubled areas and worked with the local teams to make voters feel safe.
Police say the investigations into each reported incident are progressing, including the broken electronic voting machine in Patharkandi, the fight in Khowang, and the problems overnight in Tamulpur and Sivasagar. As the authorities check claims, get statements, and look at videos, more people are being held and arrested throughout the day.
These events show that there are continuing security issues with the election, especially in areas where a lot is at stake and people are very emotional. Officials have asked political parties and their supporters to be careful, follow the rules of the voting place, and not prevent or interfere with the election process.
As the dates for counting votes come closer, law enforcement is likely to continue being very alert in areas that are sensitive. Right now, the goal is to finish voting peacefully in the remaining rounds, make sure people can get to the voting places safely, and maintain public trust in the democratic process in Assam.
