2nd phase: 24 Assam candidates not graduates

Guwahati: At a time when educational qualification of candidates making poll noises, of the 50 candidates who are in the fray for the second phase of election in Assam, at least 24 are not graduates. One of them has studied till third standard only.
Five Lok Sabha constituencies of Autonomous District, Karimganj, Mangaldoi, Nawgong and Silchar are going to polls on April 18.

Self-declared affidavits of the candidates submitted with the Election Commission revealed that of the total candidates, six have not even studied till Class X. Lienkhochon (Autonomous District) from National People’s Party and three other independent — Hiralal Rabidas (Karimganj), Rabindra Chandra Das (Karimganj) and Mohendra Chandra Das (Silchar) — have studied till the eighth standard. While Ramnarayan Suklabaidya, an independent candidate from Karimganj, declared himself of studying up to the fifth standard, Sabindra Das contesting from Silchar seat was found to be studied till class III, said their affidavits.

A report by the Assam Election Watch (AEW) added that nine candidates have educational qualification of studying up to matriculation and nine others till higher secondary.

However, the rest 26 candidates in the fray were either graduates, graduates with professional degrees or postgraduates. BJP’s Nagaon contender Rupak Sharma, Autonomous State Demand Committee’s candidate Holiram Terang as well as Horen Sing Bey of BJP contesting from the Autonomous District seat were also among the graduate candidates fighting the second phase of polls. Two other BJP candidates — Dilip Saikia (Mangaldoi) and Kripanath Mallah (Karimganj) — were too graduates.

The AEW report said, “Congress’ Bhubaneswar Kalita (Mangaldoi), Sushmita Dev (Silchar) and Pradyut Bordoloi (Nawgong) and Biren Singh Engti (Autonomous District) were among the postgraduate candidates fighting the second phase of polls. Rajdeep Roy (Silchar) is the lone postgraduate candidate fielded by BJP in the second phase.”

But that’s not all. At least four candidates in the fray also have several criminal cases registered against them. “BJP’s Autonomous District candidate Horen Sing Bey has at least two cases pending against him which included charges of kidnapping for ransom, collecting arms with intention of waging war against India, concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war and murder besides others,” the report said.

Similarly, Sahadeb Das, the Trinamool candidate from Nawgong seat, was found to be accused of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language and doing acts prejudicial to maintain harmony, attempt to murder and causing disappearance of evidence of the offence.

“While Congress’ Karimganj nominee Swarup Das has declared of having a pending case against him in which he was charged with buying of any person as a slave as well as habitual dealing in slave, Silchar’s contender Sushmita Dev too has a pending case against her. She was slapped with charges under sections of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 & Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000,” said Tasaduk Ariful Hussain, state coordinator, AEW.

Along with 18 independent candidates, 13 other political parties have fielded their nominees for the second phase of the election. Only two female candidates were contesting in the next phase.