NEW DELHI:
"Pakistan should not have any assets in India," declared Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ahead of the 2026 state assembly elections.
This wasn't a mere statement, it was something Assam's beloved CM 'Mama' asserted to draw a comparison to former CM Tarun Gogoi's son, and Congress' Gaurav Gogoi, directly calling him "an agent" India's hostile neighbour Pakistan.
Gogoi, on the other hand, dismissed the claims as "mindless and bogus" and said nobody in
Assam is taking Himanta' s words seriously:"SuperFlop."
Why feud matters in 2026 polls
The political battle between Sarma and Gogoi has sharpened dramatically ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, with allegations, personal attacks and old grievances spilling into the public domain.
What might have appeared as routine election-season rhetoric has instead revived a rivalry rooted in a bitter Congress-era fallout more than a decade ago.
What began as a leadership tussle within the Congress has since evolved into one of Assam’s most personal and high-stakes political confrontations, with Sarma and Gogoi now representing opposing camps in a contest that reflects unfinished battles from the past in the 'tea estate.'
The original Congress rift
The confrontation escalated ahead of the Assam Assembly elections when Sarma, at a press conference on February 8 alleged that Gogoi had undertaken a "very confidential visit" to Pakistan in December 2013 and was believed to have undergone "some kind of training" during his 10-day stay.
According to Sarma, Gogoi arrived in Lahore on December 15, 2013, and his visa was expanded within a day to include Islamabad and Karachi.
"Why was he taken from Lahore to Islamabad and Karachi? What did he do for 10 days?" Sarma asked.
He further claimed that after returning and later becoming an MP, Gogoi raised questions in the Lok Sabha relating to military preparedness, defence hardware, nuclear plants, espionage and the Kashmir conflict.
"A first-time MP asking such confidential questions, how can it not be linked to his Pakistan visit?" Sarma asked.
"If Gogoi cannot come out clean on his Pakistan stay, then charges of 'rashtra-droh' (treason) will have to be imposed on him," he added.
The controversy deepened after the Assam cabinet cleared the transfer of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) report to the Union home ministry.
Sarma said the investigation had reached beyond the state' s scope and required scrutiny by central agencies such as the ministry of home affairs, NIA, IB or CBI.
He clarified that the Assam Police did not question Gogoi directly "as he is a sitting MP. We have left it to the Centre, showing some respect to his position."
If I arrest Gogoi now, I will be accused of doing politics before elections. Arresting is a harsh step. I feel Gogoi is the most vulnerable politician in India now, as all his movements in the 10-day stay must have been photographed and recorded in Pakistan.
Sarma
He added that unless Gogoi answered questions about his visit, "suspicion will remain," and alleged that the Congress MP could be susceptible to blackmail.
Gaurav Gogoi strongly refuted the allegations, calling them politically motivated.
He described the claims as "mindless and bogus" and accused the chief minister of embarrassing himself.
In a post on X, Gogoi wrote, "Himanta Biswa Sarma has embarrassed himself on the stage in front of local and national media. After a 2.5 hour press conference even the journalists in the room remain unconvinced. Nobody in Assam is taking his words seriously. #SuperFlop."
"He should rather explain how his family managed to acquire 12,000 bighas or 4000 acres of prime property across Assam. When we will come to power, we will take those lands and distribute them amongst the poor and landless," Gogoi added.
Sarma's exit and BJP rise
The animosity between the two leaders dates back to events preceding the 2016 Assam assembly elections.
Sarma was once a senior minister in the Congress government led by Gaurav Gogoi' s father, the late Tarun Gogoi.
It was later revealed that Sarma had aspired to become chief minister and as Gaurav began taking an active role in Congress and influencing key decisions in his father’s government, Mama reportedly felt sidelined and tensions grew.
The fallout began ahead of the 2016 assembly election when Sarma left the Congress after the party high command projected Gaurav Gogoi as the face of the Assam Congress leadership, despite Sarma’s central role in managing the party’s successful 2011 campaign, which saw it win 79 of the 126 Assembly seats.
Sarma eventually defected to the BJP in 2015, bringing several Congress MLAs with him. The move significantly weakened the Congress in Assam and laid the foundation for the BJP' s rise in the state.
Recalling the leadership tussle, Sarma claimed, "Madam (Sonia Gandhi), whom I still refer to as such, had asked me to decide on the date and I had told her that I would take oath the day after the Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya Temple in June (2014)."
"The situation changed after Rahul Gandhi made the calls," he added.
The 'biscuit' episode
The bitterness resurfaced in October 2017, when Rahul Gandhi posted a photo of his dog Pidi on social media.
Sarma, then a former Congress leader, responded saying, "Sir who knows him better than me. Still remember you busy feeding biscuits to him while we wanted to discuss urgent Assam’s issues (sic)."
The issue gained fresh traction in 2024 after a video circulated online showing Rahul Gandhi attempting to feed a biscuit to a puppy and later offering the same biscuit to a Congress party worker after the dog rejected it.
BJP leader Pallavi CT bashed Rahul stating that he had earlier shown similar disrespect towards Sarma by offering him biscuits from the same plate as a dog.
Responding to her claim, Sarma wrote on X, "Pallavi ji, not only Rahul Gandhi but the entire family could not make me eat that biscuit. I am a proud Assamese and Indian. I refused to eat and resigned from the Congress."
Sarma’s remarks referenced his earlier criticism of Rahul. In a separate post, he had said, "Mr Rahul Gandhi, those who prefer to feed biscuits to dogs in the presence of leaders from Assam and then offer them the same biscuits should be the last people to talk about political decency. High command mindset is INC’s be all and end all. The people of India know it well."
Ongoing personal attacks
The political friction between Sarma and Gogoi dates back several years and reflects a deepening divide that began within the Congress party.
Earlier in 2023, Gaurav Gogoi accused Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, of receiving undue benefits through the BJP government’s schemes.
He alleged that her company, Pride East Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., received Rs 10 crore under the Centre’s Kisan Sampada Scheme.
Sarma denied the allegations stating that, "I would like to clarify that neither my wife nor the company she is associated with has ever received any financial subsidies from the Government of India."
Riniki denied the claims and filed a defamation suit against Gogoi.
Now, the tables have turned.
Now, Sarma has targeted Gogoi' s wife, Elizabeth Colburn alleging that she had professional links with Pakistan-based NGO LEAD Pakistan, headed by Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh.
He claimed Colburn worked with LEAD Pakistan from March 2011 to March 2012 and continued to receive payments even after moving to India.
"But her salary continued to be paid by Sheikh," Sarma alleged, adding that funds were routed from LEAD Pakistan to LEAD India "bypassing FCRA regulations.”
"Pakistani agencies cannot donate to an Indian entity as it's an enemy nation. Probably special permission was obtained in UPA time to pay Colburn," the chief minister said.
He also alleged visa violations and claimed that a confidential 45-page report authored in 2014 was sent to Pakistan.
In another remark, he described the press conference as "the most flop press conference of the century", worse than "C-grade cinema".
"He seems to think the people of Assam lack intelligence. They will decide decisively in the coming elections," Gogoi said.
Responding to earlier claims linking his wife to Pakistan' s intelligence agency ISI, Gogoi said, "If my wife is an ISI agent of Pakistan, I am a R&AW agent of India. I don't mind if a family against whom there are various cases and several allegations, makes allegations against me. The (Assam) chief minister is making these allegations only to put away allegations against him."
He also demanded that the SIT report be made public.
Gogoi dismisses earlier claims
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on February 9, Gogoi said that the SIT report remained with the chief minister for six months from September 2025 till now because it had no evidence.
He confirmed that he accompanied his wife on her work-related trip to Pakistan in 2013 and was never questioned about it.
The chief minister described the matter as one involving national security and suggested it warranted investigation by central agencies in May 2025.
"This is the first time I am saying this publicly. We have proof and will reveal it by September 10," Sarma said in 2025 asserting that his government had documents confirming Gogoi’s travel and links with the ISI.
"She is still a British citizen. Even Sonia Gandhi gave up Italian citizenship. Why hasn' t she done the same?" Sarma had asked.
He even alleged that Gogoi's children had surrendered their Indian citizenship, saying this was both "morally and legally wrong."
In response, Gogoi dismissed Sarma's claims as "absurd" and called the chief minister a "troll" acting out of a personal vendetta.
"He has made many baseless remarks about me in the past 13 years. The most recent one borders on insanity and the absurd," Gogoi wrote on social media, adding, "If he fails to prove these allegations, he must resign."
With the Assam assembly elections approaching, the Sarma-Gogoi feud has taken on strategic significance.
What is clear is that this confrontation is no longer confined to policy disagreements. It is a deeply personal rivalry shaped by ambition, betrayal, ideological realignment and unfinished political business.
As the campaign intensifies, both leaders are betting that public perception will tilt in their favour.
Whether voters view the controversy as a matter of national concern or political mudslinging could determine the outcome of Assam' s next electoral chapter.
One thing, however, is certain, the Sarma-Gogoi battle is far from over and its roots run much deeper than the headlines of today.
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