Assam to decide destiny of Bijoya, Ajmal on Thursday

Notwithstanding the sweltering heat bordering on 40° Celsius, six Lok Sabha constituencies in western and central Assam will vote on Thursday in the last phase of voting in the northeastern state. The seats that will go for voting along with another 111 Lok Sabha constituencies are – Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Gauhati, Mangaldoi and Nawgong. Barring Korajhar, which is reserved for the scheduled tribes, rest are general seats.

Thursday’s polls will decide fates of incumbent MPs like Bijoya Chakravarty in Gauhati and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal in Dhubri among others.

Touted as the fight between a grandmother and grandson, the 75-year-old Chakravarty will take on a political greenhorn Manash Borah in Gauhati. Incidentally, 32-year-old Borah was chosen as the candidate after he won the Gauhati primary that was experimented by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. How much of the experiment will work on ground will be interesting to find out on 16 May – the day of counting of votes. Although a newcomer as per record books, Borah is not new to politics. He is the son of Congress leader and Assam Social Welfare Minister Akon Borah.

Meanwhile, to ward off this challenge from the Congress, the BJP has reposed its faith on its old war horse – Bijoya Chakravarty.

Being a septuagenarian is no impediment for former Union minister Chakravarty. In course of her campaign, this sprightly lady danced to the tunes of the Assamese musical instruments dhool and pepa, traversed on foot on the dusty streets of Guwahati to point out the demerits of the UPA and Tarun Gogoi-led Congress state government. To woo her voters,  she even rode pillion with youngsters to woo her voters. Having won the Lok Sabha poll twice, Borah would do better by not undermining her age, that too at a time when there is a so-called Narendra Modi wave blowing. Regional party Asom Gana Parishad has fielded former Rajya Sabha member Birendra Prasad Baishya from this seat. Veteran Assamese actor Biju Phukan will also test the electoral waters for the first time with a Trinamool Congess ticket from the constituency.

Despite being considered as one of the dissenting voice against Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, the Lok Sabha contest got interesting in Mangaldoi the moment Congress had announced Kirip Chaliha as its candidate. Chaliha has remained a two-time Congress MP from the Gauhati seat in the 11th and 14th Lok Sabha. His relations with Gogoi had turned bitter in September last year when he shot off a legal notice to the Assam chief minister for allegedly pressurising the state women panel to register a false case against the former MP. Chaliha will have to wither the challenge from incumbent BJP parliamentarian from the seat Ramen Deka if he wants to secure a third term in the Lower House.

The fight for the Nawgong seat promises to be a four-cornered contest with all the significant parties putting up prominent names. The AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) has put up its general secretary Aditya Langthasa while sitting MLA Jonjonali Baruah will fight on behalf of the Congress. Langthasa is a former MLA from Hojai who had won the Assembly poll in 2006 but lost in 2011 to Congress’ Ardhendu Kumar Dey. What is noteworthy is that despite a significant Muslim population, Nawgong has remained a BJP stronghold for the last few years. BJP’s Rajen Gohain has been representing the seat in Lok Sabha since 1999 and is in the fray to retain the seat for the fourth time. Mridula Barkakoty is the AGP candidate from the seat. The seat also sees three women contesting with Jonjonali, Mridula and Selima Sultana, an independent candidate putting their electoral destiny to test.

The Congress is battling anti-incumbency in Barpeta constituency as the people are unhappy with its MP Ismail Hussian. The electorate is openly expressing displeasure that the incumbent MP hardly visited the constituency in the last five years. The anger among the people was evident as the presence was negligible in a recent rally addressed by the Assam chief minister to urge people to vote for the Congress. In an attempt to cash on the anti-incumbency, the BJP has fielded former AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary from the seat. Patowary had joined the BJP along with senior AGP leader Hitendra Nath Goswami on 10 March this year. Jamunamukh MLA Sirajuddin Ajmal is the AIUDF candidate from the constituency. With Hussain’s poor performance, the Muslim votes in the constituency might go pro-Ajmal while the BJP is hoping for a division of the Muslim votes to pave their path for victory. Phani Bhusan Choudhury is the AGP candidate from the seat.

Calculation for incumbent MP from Kokrajhar Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmuthiary definitely went haywire when his expected ticket from the Bodoland People’s Front was cancelled at the last moment in favour of Assam Transport MInister Chandan Brahma. Blaming his party chief Hagrama Mohilary of trying to accommodate his sister and Kokrajhar East MLA Pramila Rani Brahma in the Gogoi cabinet, Bwiswmuthiary told the media that the party is making the space by trying to send Brahma to New Delhi. An angry Bwiswmuthiary did not heed to the party order and went ahead to file his nomination as an independent candidate. The politics in the Bodo community is likely to see a division of votes as both Brahma and Bwiswmuthiary share good rapport with the electorate.

Urkhaw Gwra Brahma, who had contested 2009 Lok Sabha polls as an Independent candidate but lost to Bwiswmuthiary is in the fray again. He has the support of five prominent Bodo organisations including the All Bodo Students’ Union but this did not prove helpful last time. Former IPS officer and Meghalaya governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary is also making his political debut on a Trinamool Congress ticket. Tagged mostly as an outsider, analysts would be keen to watch what kind of an impact he makes in the constituency.

Despite his win in 2009, perfume baron and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal in all likelihood will face some serious challenge from Congress’ Wazed Ali Choudhury in Dhubri. The fallout with the Congress has created problems for the party as the Muslim votes are likely to get divided between the two parties. In the last few months, the Congress has quietly arrested much of the inroad that the AIUDF made into its Muslim voter base, thus making the contest ahead much more exciting.