Assam polls: Good for Parliament, not for assembly?

GUWAHATI: Growing up, Gaurav Gogoi saw his father Tarun Gogoi lead Congress to a threepeat in Assam. On Monday, that must be a distant memory, as he witnessed CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and the governing BJP repeat a similar feat, pushing Congress to near oblivion.

As for Gaurav, deputy leader of Congress in Lok Sabha and state party chief on whom many had pinned hopes to revive the party’s fortunes in Assam, his first outing in an assembly poll ended in defeat.



Contesting from Jorhat, the seat from where his father Tarun first entered public life as a town committee member, 43-year-old Gaurav had hoped to translate his national stature into state leadership. This election was meant to be a defining moment. But voters had different plans, ensuring he was defeated by BJP veteran and former assembly speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami by over 23,000 votes.

Not just Jorhat, under Gaurav’s leadership, Congress failed to retain several Hindu-majority constituencies, with sitting MLAs ousted by BJP challengers.The party’s tally collapsed to just 19 seats overall, compared to 29 in 2021, with a strike rate of 19% in contrast with BJP’s 91%. Its vote share, though marginally, has also come down.

Gaurav’s fiery speeches in Parliament, sharply critical of the govt, had earned him recognition as one of the party’s most articulate voices. Many in Congress believed that his victory against BJP in Lok Sabha polls just two years back could be carried into the assembly. Now, the Jorhat defeat has exposed the limits of that national profile when confronted with the realities of grassroots politics.

Gaurav’s inability to secure his own constituency has come as a big blow to the party, suggesting a disconnect between his parliamentary persona and everyday issues of voters in Jorhat. While his speeches in Delhi resonate with party workers and the national media, they did not translate into local trust or electoral support and BJP’s organisational strength. Also, Goswami’s veteran appeal proved too formidable.

In the end, voters seemed unconvinced that lineage alone could substitute for grassroots engagement, leaving Gaurav as a respected voice in Delhi but a leader struggling to find traction on home turf.
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