Bihpuria turns litmus test for Bhupen Borah

Dibrugarh: Former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah — a two-time MLA who recently crossed the floor to join BJP — prepares to contest under the saffron banner for the first time, making the contest for the Bihpuria seat in Lakhimpur district one of the most closely watched electoral battles of the season.

The 55-year-old will go head-to-head against Congress’s 55-year-old first-time candidate Narayan Bhuyan, with two other contenders also in the fray — Diganta Gogoi of the Voters Party International and Independent candidate Hemen Gogoi. But it is Borah’s dramatic political switch that has dominated pre-election conversations in the constituency.

Borah’s political journey in Bihpuria has been a tale of contrasting fortunes. His first victory came in 2006, when he narrowly defeated AGP candidate Kesharam Bora by just 593 votes. He followed that up with a more commanding win in 2011, defeating Bora by 12,156 votes this time.

However, the two subsequent elections proved punishing for Borah as a Congress candidate. In 2016, he lost to BJP’s Debananda Hazarika and in 2021, he lost to BJP’s Amiya Kumar Bhuyan. Now, in a striking reversal, Borah has joined BJP and been handed the very ticket that was denied to the man who defeated him four years ago.

“The people of Bihpuria know my work and my commitment to this region. I believe this is the right party to serve them better,” Borah said.

Beyond the political drama, voters in Bihpuria continue to grapple with pressing concerns — recurring floods, severe river erosion and poor road infrastructure that hampers connectivity across the constituency.

“Elections come and go, but our roads remain broken and our villages keep getting swallowed by the river. We want someone who will actually fix these problems,” said Gautam Hazarika, a voter of the constituency.

With Borah’s dramatic defection, a slighted sitting MLA and a first-time Congress challenger eager to upset the odds, Bihpuria promises to be among the most gripping contests on Assam’s electoral map.
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