Results will be declared on May 2.
New Delhi: In the 2016 assembly elections, the BJP was in a pre-poll alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo People’s Front (BPF). Together, the three parties won 86 of the 126 assembly seats of the state. While the AGP contested 24 seats and won 14, the BPF contested 16 seats and won 12 of them.
The Congress which had ruled the state for three consecutive terms under the chief ministership of Tarun Gogoi, contested 122 seats in the 2016 assembly polls but could win only 26 of them. It lost 53 seats in that election and was forced to form the opposition. In May 2016, a BJP-led government was formed with Sarbananda Sonowal as its chief minister.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which had contested 74 seats in the 2016 assembly polls, could win in only 13 seats. It reduced its tally from 18 in the 2011 assembly polls to 13 in the 2016 polls.
The following was the party-wise vote share in the 2016 assembly elections:
BJP: 29.5%
Congress: 30.9%
AGP: 8.1%
BPF: 3.9%
AIUDF: 13%
Independents: 11.4%
Janata Dal (United): 0.07%
Communist Party of India (Marxist): 0.55%
Communist Party of India: 0.22
The 12 key faces in the 2021 assembly elections are as follows.
Sarbananda Sonowal (BJP)
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal is seeking re-election from the Majuli constituency. This constituency had elected Rajib Lochan Pegu of Congress thrice since 2001. In the 2016 elections, in spite of a wave for ‘poriborton‘ (change) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigning for Sonowal as a hira (diamond) that he was offering to the voters of the constituency, Pegu turned out to be a formidable enemy for the top BJP candidate.
Sonowal however won the constituency because the votes of the majority Mishing community to which Pegu belongs, ended up being divided into three parts. An independent candidate, Ranjit Doley, pulled away a crucial 15,695 votes, leaving Pegu with 30, 679 votes. Sonowal won the seat with 49,602 votes by consolidating not only the non-tribal votes but also in succeeding to pocket votes from the Mishing community because he was a possible chief ministerial candidate who would go on to represent their constituency in Dispur.
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Photo: Facebook/Sarbananada Sonowal
In the 2021 polls, Sonowal’s fate would be decided by development work in the constituency in the last five years and his possibility to return to the chief minister’s chair. Though much to public satisfaction, Majuli was declared a district during Sonowal’s tenure, the most important promise of the BJP to the voters — construction of a concrete bridge linking the island in the Brahmaputra to the nearest urban centre, Jorhat town — has remained unfulfilled.
Himanta Biswa Sarma (BJP)
A key face in the state’s BJP unit, Himanta Biswa Sarma entered the Assam assembly for the first time in 2001 as a giant slayer. He had defeated the former state home minister and one of the founders of AGP, Bhrigu Kumar Phukan, in the 2001 assembly elections.
Sarma has since been winning the Jalukbari seat. In the 2016 elections, however, he won that constituency not as a Congress, but as a BJP candidate.
All eyes are on Sarma’s win in the 2021 polls as there is strong speculation within the state media and political circles that he might stake a claim for the chief ministerial position if the BJP returns to power. An ambitious politician, he is widely believed to have been eyeing the top post since his days as a Congress leader.
Akhil Gogoi (Raijor Dal)
Anti CAA-activist and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi is contesting the elections as a candidate of his new party Raijor Dal from the Congress bastion Sivasagar.
Gogoi, in jail since December 2019 and charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is a formidable opponent to Congress’ candidate Subhamitra Gogoi, a first-timer.
Akhil Gogoi. Photo: Facebook/Files
In the 2016 polls, Congress’ Pranab Gogoi had defeated the BJP candidate Surabhi Rajkonwar by a slim margin. With the recent demise of Gogoi, a former speaker and Congress MLA of the constituency since 2001, there is uncertainty within the party about the possibility of retaining the seat in the 2021 polls too.
Akhil Gogoi’s mother Ananda Gogoi had campaigned for her son in the constituency and was joined by a number of activists from outside the state. She reportedly received wide public support.
Lurin Jyoti Gogoi (AJP)
All eyes will be on the Naharkatia and Duliajan constituencies on May 2 as Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the president of the newly formed anti-CAA party, Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP), is trying his electoral luck from both the seats. Gogoi was the general secretary of the All Assam Students Union till he decided to make his maiden entry into politics a few months before the 2021 elections.
These two Upper Assam seats had gone to the BJP-AGP alliance in 2016. While Terash Gowala from the BJP had won the Duliajan seat, the Naharkatia seat was picked up by Naren Sonowal of AGP.
Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi. Photo: Twitter/@lurinjtgogoi
On May 2, it will be interesting to see if the sub-nationalist (jatiotabadi) voter base of the AGP in the Naharkatia constituency particularly would shift to Lurin Jyoti due to AGP’s support to the BJP on the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) even after it had violated the Assam Accord.
Lurin Jyoti’s win in these elections will also give an impetus to the rise, once again, of regional politics in the state.
Ajanta Neog (BJP)
A key face in the 2021 elections is Ajanta Neog, former minister in the Tarun Gogoi government, who had shifted allegiance to the BJP just before the assembly elections. She is seeking re-election from the Golaghat constituency.
Thanks to the growing trend of politicians jumping ship to another party prior to an election, a peculiar situation has confronted the voters of Golaghat constituency in the 2021 polls. While Neog, the 2016 Congress candidate, is the BJP’s candidate from the seat in the 2021 polls, the BJP’s candidate in the 2016 polls – Bitupan Saikia – is the Congress’ candidate this time.
In the 2016 polls, Neog, in spite of a BJP wave, could retain the seat for the Congress based on her good report card. Neog’s victory in the 2021 elections would send out the message clearly that voters had gone for the candidate more than the party.
Hitendranath Goswami (BJP)
Assembly speaker and BJP leader Hitendranath Goswami is seeking re-election from the Jorhat constituency. In the 2016 polls, he had defeated Congress’ Rana Goswami who too is contesting the 2021 polls in his party’s ticket.
Though the BJP had won the 2016 polls in this constituency by polling 68,953 votes as against 55,436 votes by the Congress, political observers call it a close contest between the two Goswami this time though.
Debabrata Saikia (INC)
A key face of the 2021 polls is the leader of opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, contesting from the Nazira seat.The Nazira seat has been the bastion of his father and former chief minister and Congress leader Hiteswar Saika.
New Delhi: In the 2016 assembly elections, the BJP was in a pre-poll alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo People’s Front (BPF). Together, the three parties won 86 of the 126 assembly seats of the state. While the AGP contested 24 seats and won 14, the BPF contested 16 seats and won 12 of them.
The Congress which had ruled the state for three consecutive terms under the chief ministership of Tarun Gogoi, contested 122 seats in the 2016 assembly polls but could win only 26 of them. It lost 53 seats in that election and was forced to form the opposition. In May 2016, a BJP-led government was formed with Sarbananda Sonowal as its chief minister.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which had contested 74 seats in the 2016 assembly polls, could win in only 13 seats. It reduced its tally from 18 in the 2011 assembly polls to 13 in the 2016 polls.
The following was the party-wise vote share in the 2016 assembly elections:
BJP: 29.5%
Congress: 30.9%
AGP: 8.1%
BPF: 3.9%
AIUDF: 13%
Independents: 11.4%
Janata Dal (United): 0.07%
Communist Party of India (Marxist): 0.55%
Communist Party of India: 0.22
The 12 key faces in the 2021 assembly elections are as follows.
Sarbananda Sonowal (BJP)
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal is seeking re-election from the Majuli constituency. This constituency had elected Rajib Lochan Pegu of Congress thrice since 2001. In the 2016 elections, in spite of a wave for ‘poriborton‘ (change) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigning for Sonowal as a hira (diamond) that he was offering to the voters of the constituency, Pegu turned out to be a formidable enemy for the top BJP candidate.
Sonowal however won the constituency because the votes of the majority Mishing community to which Pegu belongs, ended up being divided into three parts. An independent candidate, Ranjit Doley, pulled away a crucial 15,695 votes, leaving Pegu with 30, 679 votes. Sonowal won the seat with 49,602 votes by consolidating not only the non-tribal votes but also in succeeding to pocket votes from the Mishing community because he was a possible chief ministerial candidate who would go on to represent their constituency in Dispur.
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Photo: Facebook/Sarbananada Sonowal
In the 2021 polls, Sonowal’s fate would be decided by development work in the constituency in the last five years and his possibility to return to the chief minister’s chair. Though much to public satisfaction, Majuli was declared a district during Sonowal’s tenure, the most important promise of the BJP to the voters — construction of a concrete bridge linking the island in the Brahmaputra to the nearest urban centre, Jorhat town — has remained unfulfilled.
Himanta Biswa Sarma (BJP)
A key face in the state’s BJP unit, Himanta Biswa Sarma entered the Assam assembly for the first time in 2001 as a giant slayer. He had defeated the former state home minister and one of the founders of AGP, Bhrigu Kumar Phukan, in the 2001 assembly elections.
Sarma has since been winning the Jalukbari seat. In the 2016 elections, however, he won that constituency not as a Congress, but as a BJP candidate.
Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Photo: PTI
All eyes are on Sarma’s win in the 2021 polls as there is strong speculation within the state media and political circles that he might stake a claim for the chief ministerial position if the BJP returns to power. An ambitious politician, he is widely believed to have been eyeing the top post since his days as a Congress leader.
Akhil Gogoi (Raijor Dal)
Anti CAA-activist and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi is contesting the elections as a candidate of his new party Raijor Dal from the Congress bastion Sivasagar.
Gogoi, in jail since December 2019 and charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is a formidable opponent to Congress’ candidate Subhamitra Gogoi, a first-timer.
Akhil Gogoi. Photo: Facebook/Files
In the 2016 polls, Congress’ Pranab Gogoi had defeated the BJP candidate Surabhi Rajkonwar by a slim margin. With the recent demise of Gogoi, a former speaker and Congress MLA of the constituency since 2001, there is uncertainty within the party about the possibility of retaining the seat in the 2021 polls too.
Akhil Gogoi’s mother Ananda Gogoi had campaigned for her son in the constituency and was joined by a number of activists from outside the state. She reportedly received wide public support.
Lurin Jyoti Gogoi (AJP)
All eyes will be on the Naharkatia and Duliajan constituencies on May 2 as Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the president of the newly formed anti-CAA party, Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP), is trying his electoral luck from both the seats. Gogoi was the general secretary of the All Assam Students Union till he decided to make his maiden entry into politics a few months before the 2021 elections.
These two Upper Assam seats had gone to the BJP-AGP alliance in 2016. While Terash Gowala from the BJP had won the Duliajan seat, the Naharkatia seat was picked up by Naren Sonowal of AGP.
Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi. Photo: Twitter/@lurinjtgogoi
On May 2, it will be interesting to see if the sub-nationalist (jatiotabadi) voter base of the AGP in the Naharkatia constituency particularly would shift to Lurin Jyoti due to AGP’s support to the BJP on the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) even after it had violated the Assam Accord.
Lurin Jyoti’s win in these elections will also give an impetus to the rise, once again, of regional politics in the state.
Ajanta Neog (BJP)
A key face in the 2021 elections is Ajanta Neog, former minister in the Tarun Gogoi government, who had shifted allegiance to the BJP just before the assembly elections. She is seeking re-election from the Golaghat constituency.
Thanks to the growing trend of politicians jumping ship to another party prior to an election, a peculiar situation has confronted the voters of Golaghat constituency in the 2021 polls. While Neog, the 2016 Congress candidate, is the BJP’s candidate from the seat in the 2021 polls, the BJP’s candidate in the 2016 polls – Bitupan Saikia – is the Congress’ candidate this time.
In the 2016 polls, Neog, in spite of a BJP wave, could retain the seat for the Congress based on her good report card. Neog’s victory in the 2021 elections would send out the message clearly that voters had gone for the candidate more than the party.
Hitendranath Goswami (BJP)
Assembly speaker and BJP leader Hitendranath Goswami is seeking re-election from the Jorhat constituency. In the 2016 polls, he had defeated Congress’ Rana Goswami who too is contesting the 2021 polls in his party’s ticket.
Though the BJP had won the 2016 polls in this constituency by polling 68,953 votes as against 55,436 votes by the Congress, political observers call it a close contest between the two Goswami this time though.
Debabrata Saikia (INC)
A key face of the 2021 polls is the leader of opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, contesting from the Nazira seat.
The Nazira seat has been the bastion of his father and former chief minister and Congress leader Hiteswar Saika.
Debabrata Saikia has been winning the Nazira seat for the party since 2011. It is waiting to be seen whether he would succeed to hold on to it the third time around.
In the 2016 polls, Saikia had succeeded to get 53.77% of the total vote share.
Atul Bora (AGP)
AGP president and the state agriculture minister Atul Bora is a key face of the 2021 assembly polls, seeking re-election from Bokakhat. Among his top opponents are the Congress mahajut (grand alliance) backed independent candidate Pranab Doley and yet another independent candidate Jiten Gogoi.
New Delhi: In the 2016 assembly elections, the BJP was in a pre-poll alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo People’s Front (BPF). Together, the three parties won 86 of the 126 assembly seats of the state. While the AGP contested 24 seats and won 14, the BPF contested 16 seats and won 12 of them.
The Congress which had ruled the state for three consecutive terms under the chief ministership of Tarun Gogoi, contested 122 seats in the 2016 assembly polls but could win only 26 of them. It lost 53 seats in that election and was forced to form the opposition. In May 2016, a BJP-led government was formed with Sarbananda Sonowal as its chief minister.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which had contested 74 seats in the 2016 assembly polls, could win in only 13 seats. It reduced its tally from 18 in the 2011 assembly polls to 13 in the 2016 polls.
The following was the party-wise vote share in the 2016 assembly elections:
BJP: 29.5%
Congress: 30.9%
AGP: 8.1%
BPF: 3.9%
AIUDF: 13%
Independents: 11.4%
Janata Dal (United): 0.07%
Communist Party of India (Marxist): 0.55%
Communist Party of India: 0.22
The 12 key faces in the 2021 assembly elections are as follows.
Sarbananda Sonowal (BJP)
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal is seeking re-election from the Majuli constituency. This constituency had elected Rajib Lochan Pegu of Congress thrice since 2001. In the 2016 elections, in spite of a wave for ‘poriborton‘ (change) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigning for Sonowal as a hira (diamond) that he was offering to the voters of the constituency, Pegu turned out to be a formidable enemy for the top BJP candidate.
Sonowal however won the constituency because the votes of the majority Mishing community to which Pegu belongs, ended up being divided into three parts. An independent candidate, Ranjit Doley, pulled away a crucial 15,695 votes, leaving Pegu with 30, 679 votes. Sonowal won the seat with 49,602 votes by consolidating not only the non-tribal votes but also in succeeding to pocket votes from the Mishing community because he was a possible chief ministerial candidate who would go on to represent their constituency in Dispur.
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Photo: Facebook/Sarbananada Sonowal
In the 2021 polls, Sonowal’s fate would be decided by development work in the constituency in the last five years and his possibility to return to the chief minister’s chair. Though much to public satisfaction, Majuli was declared a district during Sonowal’s tenure, the most important promise of the BJP to the voters — construction of a concrete bridge linking the island in the Brahmaputra to the nearest urban centre, Jorhat town — has remained unfulfilled.
Himanta Biswa Sarma (BJP)
A key face in the state’s BJP unit, Himanta Biswa Sarma entered the Assam assembly for the first time in 2001 as a giant slayer. He had defeated the former state home minister and one of the founders of AGP, Bhrigu Kumar Phukan, in the 2001 assembly elections.
Sarma has since been winning the Jalukbari seat. In the 2016 elections, however, he won that constituency not as a Congress, but as a BJP candidate.
Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Photo: PTI
All eyes are on Sarma’s win in the 2021 polls as there is strong speculation within the state media and political circles that he might stake a claim for the chief ministerial position if the BJP returns to power. An ambitious politician, he is widely believed to have been eyeing the top post since his days as a Congress leader.
Akhil Gogoi (Raijor Dal)
Anti CAA-activist and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi is contesting the elections as a candidate of his new party Raijor Dal from the Congress bastion Sivasagar.
Gogoi, in jail since December 2019 and charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is a formidable opponent to Congress’ candidate Subhamitra Gogoi, a first-timer.
Akhil Gogoi. Photo: Facebook/Files
In the 2016 polls, Congress’ Pranab Gogoi had defeated the BJP candidate Surabhi Rajkonwar by a slim margin. With the recent demise of Gogoi, a former speaker and Congress MLA of the constituency since 2001, there is uncertainty within the party about the possibility of retaining the seat in the 2021 polls too.
Akhil Gogoi’s mother Ananda Gogoi had campaigned for her son in the constituency and was joined by a number of activists from outside the state. She reportedly received wide public support.
Lurin Jyoti Gogoi (AJP)
All eyes will be on the Naharkatia and Duliajan constituencies on May 2 as Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the president of the newly formed anti-CAA party, Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP), is trying his electoral luck from both the seats. Gogoi was the general secretary of the All Assam Students Union till he decided to make his maiden entry into politics a few months before the 2021 elections.
These two Upper Assam seats had gone to the BJP-AGP alliance in 2016. While Terash Gowala from the BJP had won the Duliajan seat, the Naharkatia seat was picked up by Naren Sonowal of AGP.
Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi. Photo: Twitter/@lurinjtgogoi
On May 2, it will be interesting to see if the sub-nationalist (jatiotabadi) voter base of the AGP in the Naharkatia constituency particularly would shift to Lurin Jyoti due to AGP’s support to the BJP on the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) even after it had violated the Assam Accord.
Lurin Jyoti’s win in these elections will also give an impetus to the rise, once again, of regional politics in the state.
Ajanta Neog (BJP)
A key face in the 2021 elections is Ajanta Neog, former minister in the Tarun Gogoi government, who had shifted allegiance to the BJP just before the assembly elections. She is seeking re-election from the Golaghat constituency.
Thanks to the growing trend of politicians jumping ship to another party prior to an election, a peculiar situation has confronted the voters of Golaghat constituency in the 2021 polls. While Neog, the 2016 Congress candidate, is the BJP’s candidate from the seat in the 2021 polls, the BJP’s candidate in the 2016 polls – Bitupan Saikia – is the Congress’ candidate this time.
Also read: Ground Report: In Upper Assam, Voters Are Torn Between Choosing a Candidate or a Party
In the 2016 polls, Neog, in spite of a BJP wave, could retain the seat for the Congress based on her good report card. Neog’s victory in the 2021 elections would send out the message clearly that voters had gone for the candidate more than the party.
Hitendranath Goswami (BJP)
Assembly speaker and BJP leader Hitendranath Goswami is seeking re-election from the Jorhat constituency. In the 2016 polls, he had defeated Congress’ Rana Goswami who too is contesting the 2021 polls in his party’s ticket.
Though the BJP had won the 2016 polls in this constituency by polling 68,953 votes as against 55,436 votes by the Congress, political observers call it a close contest between the two Goswami this time though.
Debabrata Saikia (INC)
A key face of the 2021 polls is the leader of opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, contesting from the Nazira seat.
The Nazira seat has been the bastion of his father and former chief minister and Congress leader Hiteswar Saika.
Debabrata Saikia has been winning the Nazira seat for the party since 2011. It is waiting to be seen whether he would succeed to hold on to it the third time around.
In the 2016 polls, Saikia had succeeded to get 53.77% of the total vote share.
Atul Bora (AGP)
AGP president and the state agriculture minister Atul Bora is a key face of the 2021 assembly polls, seeking re-election from Bokakhat. Among his top opponents are the Congress mahajut (grand alliance) backed independent candidate Pranab Doley and yet another independent candidate Jiten Gogoi.
Asom Gana Parishad’s Atul Bora. Photo: Twitter/atulbora2
With anti-AGP-BJP votes likely to get divided between Doley and Gogoi, Bora is likely to be the lucky one out on May 2. Though, political observers of the state have not ruled out a surprise winner from the constituency. In the 2016 polls, Bora had won the seat by wresting 62,952 votes of the total 12,3219 votes polled.
Ranjit Dass (BJP)
A key face in the 2021 polls, BJP state president Ranjit Dass is contesting the polls this time from Patacharkuchi.
He had entered the state assembly in 2016 from Sarbhog. However, with the Congress and the AIUDF votes consolidating due to the grand alliance, Dass’s chance of repeating his victory from Sarbhog seemed remote, leading him to move to a safer seat.
In the 2016 polls, Patacharkuchi was won by Pabindra Deka of the AGP with 64,558 votes. This time though, the seat was handed over to the BJP, leaving Deka to openly rebel against his party. He quit the AGP and is contesting the polls as a candidate of the newly formed AJP. A close contest is predicted at Patacharkuchi by the state’s political observers.
Ripun Bora (INC)
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president and Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora is contesting the polls from this constituency. If he wins the seat on May 2, there will be a vacancy in the current upper house.
In the 2016 polls, the Gohpur seat was won by Utpal Bora of the BJP by a whopping 84935 votes as against 56393 votes by Monika Bora for the Congress.
Indian National Congress candidate Ripun Bora. Photo: Twitter/ripunbora
Biswajit Daimary (BJP)
Biswajit Daimary, yet another state politician to jump ship to BJP just before the elections to contest the polls, has become a key face of the 2021 polls as he is also a Rajya Sabha member. He was re-elected recently to the upper house representing the BPF, then a BJp ally. But he is now contesting the polls as a BJP candidate from Paneri.His win is crucial as it would then vacate a Rajya Sabha seat from Assam. Since this seat had gone to the BPF with the help of the BJP, it leaves open the possibility of a senior state leader of the BJP to go to New Delhi. With the question about who would be the next chief minister between Sonowal and Sarma looming over the BJP prior to the polls, Daimary’s win could be crucial to the party taking a decision on who among the two should be next chief minister and who to possibly join the Narendra Modi government in recent future. The expansion of the Modi government has been on the cards for some time now.
Jagadish Bhuyan (AJP)
Jagadish Bhuyan, former BJP leader who had quit the party opposing its controversial position in the CAA, is seeking his electoral luck from Sadiya. Bhuyan is now the general secretary of the new anti-CAA party AJP. His formidable opponent is Congress’ Bolin Chetia, the sitting MLA.
Bhuyan had won the Sadiya seat twice, as an AGP candidate, in the 1990s, and also served as tourism minister in the Prafulla Mahanta government from 1998 to 2001. In 2015 though, he had quit the AGP over political differences with the then leadership and joined the BJP. In end 2019, hours after the BJP-led central government passed the CAA in Parliament including Assam within its ambit, Bhuyan had quit the party. He played a crucial role in forming the Asam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).
SOURCE ; THE WIRE
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