Silchar, April 23: The election to the prestigious Silchar Lok Sabha seat in south Assam is being billed as a battle of titans.

In the fray are stalwarts like Santosh Mohan Dev of the Congress, six-time MP and a former Union minister, Kabindra Purakayastha, BJP’s national executive member and also a former Union minister, and Noorul Huda, a CPM central committee member.

But the jousting for this constituency, spread over Cachar district, will be robbed of colour and drama this time as the canvassing will be overshadowed by floods. Electioneering had started here on a low key as incessant rain and floods had forced all the candidates to restrict their canvassing to group meetings.

Earlier this week, Dev and Purakayastha, the principal aspirants from this seat, resumed their respective campaigns at Dholai and Kathigorah as the sun shone after a long break.

With only six days to go for polling, flood is the principal issue dominating the campaign.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and Silchar district Congress committee president Karnendu Bhattacharjee said his party would focus on relief for those affected by the floods and repair of damaged infrastructure. Another campaign issue is the NDA government’s failure to start the Tipaimukh hydel project, which would also help to control floods in Cachar district.

The party’s candidate, Santosh Mohan Dev, has pledged to devote the next five years, if elected, to the Tipaimukh project and conversion of the 214-km-long metre gauge rail track between Silchar and Lumding. He will also focus on welfare schemes, which he has spearheaded since he became the area’s MP in 1980.

Floods also figure in Purukayastha’s campaign. The BJP candidate said his party initially wanted the polls to be deferred because of the floods, but the Congress was against it even though the natural disaster had caused much distress to the people. The BJP will also focus on the centrally-funded rural infrastructure and poverty alleviation schemes which have made much headway in Cachar.

Both Dev and Purakayastha had to cancel their rallies at Kabuganj and Dholai in south Cachar recently because of the rain. Dev even had a narrow escape when a tree collapsed in front of his car during a hailstorm while he was campaigning.

The CPM has also demanded postponement of elections in this seat because of the floods. But the Election Commission appears to be in no mood to adhere to the BJP and CPM’s demand.

Pollsters agree that whoever wins, the victory margin will be slender. The constituency has 8,77,537 voters and 1,038 polling stations.

Dev had trounced Purakayastha in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from this seat by 1,08,742 votes.

This time, however, there might be a slight erosion in Dev’s votebank with the Muslim voters, constituting nearly 34 per cent of the total electorate, voting for the two Muslim candidates, Noorul Huda (CPM) and Anowar Hussain Laskar (Samajwadi Party). He can, however, always bank on the support of the tea garden population, which accounts for 11 per cent of the total voter strength. The BJP hopes to garner much of the Hindu votes, but according to election watchers, the votes in this seat get splintered among the major contestants and not on communal lines.

The personalities of the candidates do appear to sway the voters here. Thus, Arabinda Bose, a teacher, said: “I will vote for Dev as he is action-oriented and a go-getter”. Anil Sen, a trader, said he would vote for Purakayastha, who is genial and accessible. Biren Singh, a banana cultivator, made it clear that his vote would be for Huda as he is the people’s man.