Assam By-poll: 'Akhil Gogoi's campaign same as cuckoo laying eggs in crow nest'

By Devabrata Dutta 

GUWAHATI: The dynamics in Assam politics is changing in a rapid manner, as the state is set to go to by-polls for at least five constituencies, and grounds of the Thowra constituency seem to get battle-ready even before the election dates were announced.

As the last Assam Assembly Poll concluded in May, Congress lost the Thowra constituency even after winning as its sitting MLA Sushanta Borgohain resigned from the party and legislative assembly to join Bharatiya Janata Party.

According to reliable sources, the BJP is all set to field former Congress MLA Sushanta Borgohain over its previous MLA Kushal Dowari in the by-polls.

Raijor Dal has been also showing enthusiasm to contest from Thowra at any cost and according to its party sources - Dhairjya Konwar, General Secretary of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), is almost confirmed to contest from the same.

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Raijor Dal President Akhil Gogoi today asserted to make the speculations official on September 10 and also confirmed that Raijor Dal will be contesting from Thowra even if they come in alliance with other parties including Congress.

Though Thowra is known to be a Congress bastion, BJP's base also cannot be denied, as the saffron party had just lost by a hair. With Sushanta Borgohain's change of allegiance to BJP, many Congress workers have changed theirs too.

Now the question arises whether Congress is ready to leave its fortress for others or will they fight for it?

An alliance between Congress and Raijor Dal is still dicey due to the conflicting statements of both the party members from time to time. Though Akhil Gogoi said today that the probability of an alliance is still not off the table but Congress is delaying in the decision.

"We are a small party. We do not have the money and resources to fight elections like the BJP. Hence we have to start our campaign earlier and we will be starting that from Thowra," said Akhil Gogoi.

On the other hand, Sushanta Borgohain also expressed his view on the same and said, "Akhil Gogoi's campaign is like building a castle in the air. This no way going to harm me but Congress itself."

"Due to lack of own resources, Raijor Dal is in a continuous effort to hijack Congress booths for the election. It's same as a cuckoo laying eggs in a crow nest," Borgohain added.

Citing all these factors, even if Congress decides to leave its bastion for Raijor Dal as a joint effort to fight against the BJP, it will go against Assam Pradesh Congress Committee's newly appointed President Bhupen Kumar Borah's claims to revive the party from the dust and reconstruct the party in every single constituency.

Borah, who was against the Congress-led grand-alliance during the Assam Assembly Polls 2021 as well, on many occasions said that he is more in favour of going solo rather than forming alliance after alliance.

"If we keep on forming alliances then one day our party symbol will be forgotten from some places," Borah expressed days earlier.

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In a recent development, the national leadership of Congress has bestowed all the decisions regarding the upcoming by-poll upon APCC including the decision of forming a new alliance.

However, on asked Bhupen Borah, he said that APCC was yet to finalise their strategy and also refrained from making any direct comment on the same.

"We are waiting and watching the entire situation, very soon AICC GS will visit Assam. Once discussed, we will inform everything in detail at the proper time," said Bhupen Borah.

If sources are to be believed, there is another angle to the Thowra constituency by-poll as Akhil Gogoi's lawyer in his NIA case, Krishna Gogoi, has also expressed his will to contest from Thowra on a grand-alliance ticket, only on which condition Raijor Dal might think of taking a back seat from Thowra. But since the existence of grand-alliance has also gone to the dust hence advocate Krishna Gogoi also does not seem to be in the picture anymore.

Where all parties have come up with their poll strategies Congress is yet to make its stand. Delayed action has cost the Congress party a fortune already in the last assembly polls. This time with two new state Presidents in both BJP and Congress, all eyes are on Bhupen Borah to see how efficiently he is going to pull the party out from its previously left crumbled condition and winning back Congress' bastions would be seen as his maiden step towards it when BJP is in its full force in the state.

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