It was a case of sweet revenge for Himanta Biswa Sarma, who played a key role in ending former mentor Tarun Gogoi's 15-year rule. Sarma fell out with his guru last year when he asked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to drop the CM as leader of the Congress Legislature Party. When his request was turned down, he promptly crossed over to BJP with nine Congress legislators.
Not only did Sarma win his seat Jalukbari, a constituency located on the outskirts of Guwahati, with a thumping majority, the 47-year-old was also the brain behind the alliance with regional forces like AGP and BPF to avoid a division of anti-Congress voters. It was this strategy that paid handsome dividend.
Many in Congress describe Sarma as a politician who can correctly read the pulse of the people. Before he quit Congress, he served as a minister under Gogoi for many years and even helped him defeat BJP and AGP in 2011. This time, it was Congress's turn to have a taste of Sarma's medicine.