Margherita set for triangular contest, BJP’s Bhaskar Sharma eyes hat-trick

Dibrugarh: The Margherita assembly constituency in Assam’s Tinsukia district is headed for a triangular contest on April 9, with BJP, Raijor Dal and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the fray in a seat long shaped by political heavyweights.With only three candidates contesting — sitting BJP MLA Bhaskar Sharma, Raijor Dal’s Rahul Chetry and JMM’s Garnel Minze — the main fight is expected to be between Sharma and Chetry. Sharma, 57, is seeking a third straight win after victories in 2016 and 2021. In 2016, he became the first BJP candidate to win Margherita, defeating then Congress MLA Pradyut Bordoloi by 22,744 votes. Sharma secured 76,365 votes against Bordoloi’s 53,621. In 2021, he defeated Congress candidate Manoranjan Borgohain by 58,500 votes, polling 86,640 against 28,140.“The people of Margherita have given me two consecutive mandates and I am confident they will bless me again. My work on the ground speaks for itself,” said Sharma, who belongs to the Gorkha community, a key voter bloc in the constituency.Chetry, 30, also comes from the Gorkha community, adding a social dimension to the contest. His candidature, however, has drawn scrutiny because of his alleged role in the 2022 Dibrugarh University ragging case.Chetry was named the prime accused in the case involving first-semester M Com student Anand Sharma, who suffered multiple spinal fractures and other serious injuries after jumping from the second floor of his hostel on Nov 27, 2022, allegedly to escape torture by seniors. Chetry, a former general secretary of Dibrugarh University, was absconding for several days before surrendering to police. He is out on bail. University authorities later barred him from entering the campus, and 18 students were rusticated in connection with the incident.“Fielding someone accused in such a horrific ragging case raises serious questions about political accountability,” said a local resident who did not wish to be named.It remains unclear how far the case will affect Chetry’s prospects. Observers say Sharma faces no visible anti-incumbency wave, though local discontent persists over illegal rat-hole coal mining in the Margherita coal belt, poor roads, fragile bamboo bridges in rural areas, and erosion caused by the Buridehing and Tirap rivers.Margherita has seen nine assembly elections since 1978. Kul Bahadur Chetri won the seat for the Janata Party in 1978 and later, after joining Congress, retained it in 1983, 1985 and 1991. Pradyut Bordoloi then won three straight terms for Congress in 2001, 2006 and 2011. Sharma broke that run with BJP victories in 2016 and 2021.