No big rallies, PVM nominee harps on mass contact

GUWAHATI: At a time when major political parties are using choppers, holding grand rallies and mega poll campaigns across the state, independent candidate from Guwahati

Lok Sabha

seat Upamanyu Hazarika has chosen a separate way.


Hazarika, a Supreme Court lawyer, has been walking straight to the voters and asking them to stand united to fight for the indigenous people of Assam.

The lawyer, also the convener of the state’s anti-influx body of Prabajan Virodhi Manch (PVM), had announced to plunge in the electoral politics, accusing all political parties of cheating the people in the name of freeing the state from illegal infiltrators.

“This is the basic and best way to reach out to people. It’s cheaper also. This way I can directly communicate with the people. While working on illegal infiltrators, this method helped me reach out to the people,” said Hazarika as he was engaged in a door-to-door campaigning. On Wednesday, the independent candidate campaigned across Boko, Dhupdhara, Dhudnoi and several other areas on the outskirts of the city.

His supporters believed that in huge poll rallies, the leaders generally addressed the people but failed to listen to their plights. “With this method, one can not only communicate directly with the public but can also listen to their demands, grievances and versions,” said a supporter. While Hazarika kept walking to the voters, his supporters were seen driving a vehicle with loudspeakers appealing the people to support Hazarika.

During the campaign, the SC lawyer urged the people of the state to rise above party politics and stand firm to protect the rights of the indigenous people. He said, “The government’s apathy and negligence towards the interests of the indigenous people of Assam clearly reveal its stance. The only concern of the government now is winning the coming election even by putting the identity of the indigenous at stake. The Guwahati constituency has some 18 lakh indigenous voters and these voters will show their might in this poll and deracinate these parties.” The Guwahati parliamentary seat, which will go to vote on April 23, has 21,49,230 voters.

In February, the PVM gave one week’s ultimatum to the state government to act on three of its prime demands of passing a legislation for reserving land, employment for the indigenous people; re-verification of the updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and assurance from the BJP government not to bring in the CAB in future. The PVM had announced that if the government did not act on these demands, then it would venture in the electoral politics to protect the indigenous people of the state. Later with no response from the government, the PVM announced to push Hazarika to fight the polls as an independent candidate.

Hazarika, who has been fighting for the rights of the indigenous people for the past six years, has also been targeting the tech-savvy voters through social media platforms.