Assam Lok Sabha elections 2024: Mallikarjun Kharge to campaign in Barpeta today, Priyanka Gandhi in Dhubri on May 1

The Congress is set to push the party’s prospects in northeastern Assam where party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Priyanka Gandhi will campaign in key seats like Barpeta and Dhubri on April 27 and May 1 respectively. 

On April 27, party chief Kharge will hold a press conference in the state capital Guwahati where the Congress nominee Mira Borthakur Goswami is pitted against BJP’s Bijuli Kalita Medhi following which Kharge will hold a public meeting in Barpeta, Assam.

The Barpeta seat had become controversial after the Congress named state Seva Dal chief Deep Gayan as its candidate, upsetting ally CPI-M, which wanted the seat as part of a 16-party alliance called the United Opposition Forum. 

As the Congress refused to withdraw its candidate, the CPI-M also announced its nominee Manoranjan Talukdar making it a triangular contest against Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Phani Bhushan Chowdhury, who is the joint nominee of the ruling alliance.

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Sitting Congress MP from Barpeta Abdul Khaleque was denied a ticket this time, following which he resigned from the party, but later withdrew his resignation letter at the behest of party chief Kharge.

Dhubri, a Muslim-majority area, has been a traditional Congress stronghold, but this time the grand old party has fielded Rakibul Hussain against former ally AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal. 

In the 2019 national polls, Congress contested all 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state but could win only three seats Kaliabor, Nowgong and Barpeta with 35.5 per cent vote share.

The BJP had contested 10 seats and won nine seats with a vote share of 36 per cent. BJP ally AGP contested three seats, but could not win any seats.

Recently, both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi campaigned for party candidates in Jorhat and Dibrugarh seats. 

In Jorhat Congress leader Gaurab Gogoi contested against BJP’s Topon Gogoi. 

The party has given the Dibrugarh seat to ally Assam Jatiya Parishad whose leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi is pitted against BJP’s Sarbananda Sonowal, former chief minister and AAP’s Manoj Dhanowar.