Five-time Congress MP & former Union DoNER minister Paban Singh Ghatowar is contesting from Moran, a seat currently held by his wife Jibantara. Rajib Dutta of TOI talks to the man who’s had no luck with assembly polls:TOI: This will be a transition for you — from national politics to state politics.
Ghatowar: I was not an applicant for the ticket. It was the wish of the party high command that I contest from the Moran seat. I'm happy to serve the people in whichever capacity I can.
TOI: How many seats do you think Congress is going to win?
Ghatowar: I can't predict the exact number of seats, of course. But I'm hopeful we will be able to form government on our own.
TOI: How are BJP and its allies going to perform?
Ghatowar: Personally, I think they will get less than 40 seats.
TOI: In the last Lok Sabha election, we saw the tea tribe votes get transfered to BJP. What is the scenario this time?
Ghatowar: Of the tea tribe voters, 80% are Congress supporters. But you're right. In the last Lok Sabha election, only 50% of them voted for Congress. But there is a misconception that BJP fared well because of the transfer of these votes. It won because 70-80% voters from other communities like Hindu-Bengali, Nepali and Hindi-speaking voted for them.
TOI: The upper Assam region, consisting of the seven districts of Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur, is considered quite crucial, with 34 seats. Do you think it could turn things around?
Ghatowar: Yes, those seats are quite crucial for us. In 2011, we won 30 seats from these seven districts. I am confident we will retain the seats this time as well.
TOI: What is your primary concern for the people of Moran constituency?
Ghatowar: My first priority will be to develop Moran into a full-fledged subdivision. Recently, it was upgraded to a civil subdivision. There are two major problems faced by the people of my constituency — floods and wild elephants. I intend to look into these as well.
TOI: What are your expectations as a candidate?
Ghatowar: The love and support of the people has been overwhelming, as always. My wife has been nurturing the constituency since 2004. It is my home. This time, I have been able to organize only three meetings in the constituency so far.
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