24 Names, 2 Evms Baffle Karimganj Voters | Guwahati News - Times of India

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Guwahati: As many as 24

candidates

, the highest in any Lok Sabha seat in Assam, were in the fray for the

Karimganj

seat, where some

voters

got puzzled after seeing two

EVMs

in front of the enclosure where they voted.

The election authorities had to provide two EVMs before a voter as it was not technically possible to allot buttons against 24 candidates in one machine.

Some voters asked their fellow voters, who voted early in the day, about the serial number of the buttons of the candidates of their choice from the top so that they don't have to spare time searching for their favourite candidate.

"For the educated people, it was not difficult because the buttons of the key candidates from the parties like the BJP, the Congress and the AIUDF were on the top of the EVM. But some voters were feeling uneasy before going to polling stations. They thought that names of so many candidates and their party symbols would confuse them, and eventually, they might end up pushing the wrong button in a hurry," said Sonali Chakraborty, who voted in Kalachand MV School in Karimganj.

Among the 24 candidates, 16 for the Karimganj Lok Sabha constituency are Muslims, where an estimated 62% of voters are also Muslims. A political analyst from Karimganj said the two dozen candidates would create a division of Muslim votes, but this does not mean a smooth sail for the BJP candidate and sitting MP Kripanath Mallah. Congress's Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury and AIUDF candidate Sahabul Islam Coudhury are the two other leading contenders.

A significant number of votes to the 13 Muslim Independent candidates may keep the BJP ahead, if their Hindu vote bank remains intact, and as expected, Muslim votes, especially from the fishermen community, get added to its vote share.

Nevertheless, analysts said a major chunk of Muslim votes will be divided among the Congress, the AIUDF and the BJP.

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