By Avik Chakraborty
Guwahati, April 23: The Nagaon Lok Sabha seat, which was a bastion of the BJP since 1999, was snatched away by the Congress in 2019.
Senior Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi won the seat with a margin of 16752 votes against BJP candidate Rupak Sharma.
After delimitation, Jagiroad, Laharighat, Marigaon, Dhing, Rupahihat, Samaguri, Nagaon-Batadrava, and Raha are included in the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat.
Rajen Gohain of the BJP won the constituency in 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.
However, Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi in 2019 emerged victorious in the parliamentary elections and snatched the Nagaon seat from the BJP.
In the last parliamentary elections, the BJP leadership replaced Rajen Gohain and instead placed Rupak Sharma, who lost the elections.
This time, the Nagaon parliamentary seat will witness a triangular contest between sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, BJP candidate Suresh Bora, and AIUDF candidate Aminul Islam.
The BJP has given a ticket to Suresh Bora, a former Ulfa-cadre-turned-politician.
Bora, the former president of the Nagaon District Congress Committee, contested the assembly elections from the Barhampur assembly constituency in 2021. He was defeated by the BJP’s Jitu Goswami by a margin of 751 votes.
On the other hand, the AIUDF has given a ticket to Aminul Islam from the Nagaon seat, who is known for his controversial remarks. Aminul Islam will try to ‘woo’ minority votes because the constituency was dominated by minority voters. Islam is currently an MLA from the Dihing Assembly constituency.
The ratio of Hindu and Muslim electorates was 60:40 in 2019. After delimitation, 51% of voters in the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat are now Muslims, whereas 49% are Hindus.
The inclusion of Dihing, Rupahihat, and Samaguri assembly segments in the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency boosted the confidence of Congress, which won Nagaon sest in the 2019 polls by less than 20,000 votes.
Sitting MP Pradyut Bordoloi has already started a massive campaign to retain the seat for the second time. He has been visiting minority areas to seek votes.
Suresh Bora’s campaign has largely been based on highlighting the accomplishments of the BJP-led government at the center and in the state. During the Ramzan month, Bora was seen taking part in the holy Ramzan namaaz to ‘woo’ minority voters.
Similarly, AIUDF candidate Aminul Islam has been campaigning in the Char areas of the constituency, seeking support. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal has been campaigning for Islam. Islam comes from a minority background, which will be an advantage for him, but how much he will grab the opportunity will be interesting to see.
“Nagaon seat is very important for the BJP to win because the seat has been under the Safron Party since 1999, but in 2019, they lost the seat to Congress. Rajen Gohain is the man who has won the Nagaon seat four times. This time, the BJP has been campaigning hard to regain the seat. The anti-incumbency factor is there against Congress, but how far the anti-incumbency factor will help the BJP and AIUDF is an interesting one to see. A tough fight will be witnessed in the Nagaon parliamentary seat,” said a political analyst.
In the second phase of elections, Nagaon will go to the polls on April 26.
Also Read: Dibrugarh District Sports Association suspends Dr Debajit Dutta over “child abuse” case
Also Watch
Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.
Also, Follow us on-
Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub
Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020
Instagram- www.instagram.com/ne_media_hub
