Kamal Ghorui
GUWAHATI: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma cast his vote on Thursday at a new polling station in Garal after delimitation redrew constituency boundaries and ended a long-standing voting routine in Amingaon.For years, Sarma voted at Amingaon High School in North Guwahati on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra. But after the polling station was moved out of Jalukbari and into the newly created Hajo-Sualkuchi constituency, his polling station shifted to Garal on the southern bank.
Sarma voted around noon at Garal Buniyadi Lower Primary School, now part of Jalukbari after the constituency overhaul. The polling station had earlier fallen under the now-defunct West Guwahati constituency. He is contesting from Jalukbari and seeking a sixth consecutive win.Voters gathered outside the polling station to greet the chief minister and take selfies after he arrived following prayers at Kamakhya Temple and Doul Govinda Temple.The Garal area, known for the Manasa Temple and other shrines associated with shakti worship, has now entered the chief minister’s electoral circuit. Some residents said the shift could bring greater attention to local religious sites, especially with the proposed Guwahati Aerocity nearby.Sarma expressed confidence in BJP’s prospects. “I think people are going to give a decisive mandate for the development of Assam,” Himanta told the media persons outside the polling station.“Like every other citizen, voting is also my responsibility. I have voted in my polling station for Assam’s progress and wellbeing. The decision voters take today will decide the direction of Assam’s future in the next five years,” said Himanta, who voted along with his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, son Nandil Biswa Sarma and daughter Sukanya Sarma.Election officials said Sarma and his family shifted their names to the Garal polling station during the last special revision started in 2025. “His name no longer exists in the Amingaon High School polling station,” said an election official, adding that the move to Garal was Sarma’s own decision.An election document lists Sarma as a resident of a flat in the nearby Dharapur-Garal area in Kamrup (Metro) district. Sarma said he could not campaign extensively in Jalukbari because he was leading NDA outreach across Assam, but said he would work relentlessly for the constituency after the election.At the polling station, local voters voiced support for Sarma and expectations of development in Garal. “When he is representing our constituency and our polling station, we can expect all the good works here in and around Garal,” said voter Dilip Sarma. Another voter, Raghunath Barua, said Garal’s religious significance should be developed further.
