Assam: Tough time for BJP in Guwahati? Four ministers deployed to retain seat

GUWAHATI: The high-energy campaign for Assam’s prestigious Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency will conclude on Sunday, which will go to the poll during the third phase of elections on May 7.

Eight candidates are in the fray from Guwahati. They are Bijuli Kalita Medhi (BJP), Mira Borthakur Goswami, Samad Choudhury (BGP), Sejon Goyari (BMP), Amitabh Sarma (Akom Sanatan Bharat Dal), Deepak Kumar Boro (VPI), Kazi Nekib Ahmed (Independent) and Col Gokul Chandra Singha (Independent).

Of the 20,19,444 total electorate in 10 assembly segments under the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency, 10,26,118 are female and 9,93,268 are male voters. The number of transgender voters is 58.

The gender ratio in the constituency will be 1,033 against 955 in the state and the national average of 948.

The number of voters within the age group of 18 to 19 is 9708 as of February 8.

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Of the total voters, 24.78% of the voters belong to the Muslim community while 28.87% belong to the general category of which 16.07% belong to the Kalita community and the Brahmins make up 7.36% of the total voters. 

Of the total 21.77% OBCs, the Rajbongshis are 5.35%  and of the 17.58% ST voters, the Rabhas are 8.27% of the total voters.\

57.80% are mainstream Assamese, 20.40% Bengali, 12.29% Hindi-speaking, 1.92% Gorkha, 1.69% Bodo, 0.91% Manipuri, 0.90% Bhojpuri, and 4.09% other community voters.

In 2019, Guwahati had 21,81,319 voters, including 11,03,376 male voters, 10,77,865 female voters, and 78 third-gender voters. In 2014, there were 19,22,270 voters.

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Of 10 assembly segments, Goalpara West and Dudhnoi will be in Goalpara district, Chamaria, Boko-Chaygaon and Palashbari in Kamrup (Rural) district and Dispur, Dimoria, New Guwahati, Guwahati Central and Jalukbari are in Kamrup Metro district.

The prestigious Guwahati seat has been under the grip of the BJP since 2009. Kirip Chaliha was the last MP who was elected from this seat in the 2004 election defeating BJP candidate Bhupen Hazarika.

BJP’s Bijaya Chakravorty won the seat in two consecutive elections in 2009 and 2014. In 2019, BJP dropped Bijaya and gave the ticket to Queen Ojah, who won the election defeating Congress candidate Bobbeetta Sharma by a margin of 3.45 lakh votes.

It is not the first time the constituency has fought between women. The constituency witnessed a battle of ballots between BJP’s Queen Ojah and Congress candidate Bobbeeta Sharma in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In the 2019 elections, Queen Ojah secured 10,08,936 votes while Bobbeetta Sharma got 6,63,330 votes.

In 2014 election BJP Bijoya Chakravarty secured 7,64,985 votes while her opponent Congress candidate Manash Bora secured 4,49,201 votes.

Of the 10 assembly segments, Congress represents four constituencies- 13-Goalpara West, Dudhnoi, 27 Chamaria, Chaygaon and 28 Boko-Chaygaon), while six other assembly segments are under the dominion of the ruling BJP.

However, Mira Borthakur Goswami’s campaign has exploited the BJP camp in Guwahati forcing the saffron party to depute four cabinet ministers to campaign for the party candidate.

Even after two mega roadshows by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amrit Shah, the saffron party has deployed Finance Minister Ajanta Neog, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, industries and Commerce Minister Bimal Borah and Revenue Minister Jogen Mohan to address election rallies in different parts of the city.

Apart from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the four ministers during their campaigns sought votes for the party candidate for the development of the city. They emphasized the government’s accomplishments over the past decades, which included significant infrastructure development and various welfare programmes.

The party has more than 1 lakh members in the city. The war councillors along with the party workers have been working relentlessly across the constituency.

Perhaps, Bijuli Kalita Medhi is contesting such a large-scale election for the first time. She is not a known figure for the BJP leaders and grassroots workers.

However, Mira Borthakur Goswami has been able to draw the attention of the voters of both rural and areas voicing against the anti-poor policies of the BJP-led government in the last years.

Goswami, who was earlier a senior BJP leader,  joined the Congress in 2019 after she resigned from the BJP voicing against the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act in the Parliament.

Sources said that both Congress and BJP workers at the grassroots level are impressed with Mira Borthakur Goswami and are likely to extend support to her. 

However, the Congress campaign is yet to gather steam while BJP is campaigning aggressively for the seat.

Mira Borthakur Goswami was seen in the field in the absence of star campaigners and senior leaders.

“There is an undercurrent among the voters. It is only because of the hike in prices of all essential commodities and medicines. This silent voter may help Congress to win the seat,” said Gopal Chandra Sarma, in charge of the Congress campaign for Guwahati.