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Manmohan sees a Congress-led government

Sushanta Talukdar

“Performance of the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance will be good”

This is the first time Manmohan is casting his vote in Assam
“It is the duty of all Indians to exercise their franchise with enthusiasm”

Guwahati: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday expressed the confidence that there would be a Congress-led government at the Centre after the elections.

“The Congress in Assam will win a thumping majority and there will be a Congress-led government at the Centre,” said Dr. Singh while talking to reporters after casting his vote along with wife Gursharan Kaur in a polling booth at the Dispur Government Higher Secondary School at Sarumotoria here that comes under the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency.

He, however, declined to make any comment when asked if the Congress would take the support of the Left or extend support to the Left for government formation.

This is the first time he is casting his vote in Assam. He could not do so in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls and 2006 Assembly elections.

After their arrival at 11.35 a.m. Dr. Singh and Ms. Kaur stood in a short queue to exercise their franchise.

“I am really excited to be back home and cast my vote. It is the duty of all Indians to exercise their franchise with enthusiasm,” Dr. Singh said.

Asked if he was feeling tense after the second phase of polling, the Prime Minister said that he was not at all feeling tense about the polling, and exuded confidence that the performance of the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance would be good.

Ms. Kaur also said it was “a great feeling” for her to cast her vote here.

Bipul Kumar Saikia, a scientist at the Centre of Plasma Physics, who was just ahead of Dr. Singh in the queue, said the Prime Minister interacted with him and other voters inside the polling station and greeted each and everyone.

Presiding Officer H. Kataki said Dr. Singh and his wife were the 258th and 259th voters to vote in the polling station, which has total of 1,138 voters.

A three-tier security check was in place right from the G.S. Road to the polling station. All voters were asked to pass through a doorframe metal detector and also frisked by security personnel.

After Dr. Singh’s cavalcade moved inside the polling station, voters were not allowed to enter till he left.

After arriving at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi international airport here, Dr. Singh and his wife flew in a chopper that landed at a temporary helipad at the veterinary college playground, about three km from the polling booth.

Dr. Singh has a rented house close to the polling station. It is owned by Hemoprova Saikia, former Assam Minister and wife of the former Chief Minister, the late Hiteswar Saikia.

Congress candidate for the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency Robin Bordoloi, who arrived at the polling booth after the Prime Minister left, said: “I am feeling great as perhaps I am the first candidate for whom the Prime Minister has come to cast his vote. I am feeling very proud.”

Mr. Bordoloi is locked in a tough contest with the BJP candidate and former Union Minister, Bijoya Chakrabarty.

Principal of the school Bilibala Devi was looking for an opportunity to meet the Prime Minister and apprise him on the need for some financial assistance for the government-run school but it did not materialise.

One of the voters, who is a local level Congress leader, had taken a traditional Assamese Gamocha with the hope of presenting it to Dr. Singh. However, he too did not get the opportunity.

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