Assam Polls: Outsider tag, beef row shape Guwahati Central contest

Guwahati: From an insider-outsider argument to eating beef, the Guwahati Central constituency is the centre of all debates and controversies this election season in Assam.

The outsider debate began when BJP fielded Vijay Gupta, who has his family roots in Bihar but was born and brought up in Assam, from the constituency. Gupta, BJP's organisational man in Assam for decades, was given the ticket by the party by dropping allsy Asom Gana Parishad's (AGP) Ramendra Narayan Kalita. The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has fielded Kunki Chowdhury, a 27-year-old woman, whom the Congress is backing.

Chowdhury filed a complaint at Panbazar Police Station alleging the circulation of defamatory deepfake videos aimed at tarnishing her image ahead of the assembly election. She alleged that the content falsely portrayed her in a manner intended to damage her "character, reputation, dignity and electoral prospects".


Choudhury, an alumna of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and University College London, is facing a bitter attack from Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, alleging that Kunki's mother eats beef and is "anti-national and anti-Sanatani". "The AJP has fielded a candidate whose mother's Instagram posts show that she criticises Lord Krishna, openly eats beef, challenges Sanatani people, supports anti-national people like jailed former JNU students Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid and says that Pakistan is not an enemy nation," Sarma said.

Kunki has termed these allegations as baseless. The Gorkha community has rallied around Kunki. All India Gorkha League has announced unconditional support to her. Sarma on Saturday said, "Assam has Cattle preservation Act and public consumption of beef can lead to three years of jail term. I will also file an FIR against them."

Economist Parakala Prabhakar in a video message has praised Chowdhury, describing her as "a bright, confident and well-educated young leader with national and international exposure", adding that she possesses "fresh ideas and the maturity needed to represent the people effectively".

The constituency has 1,91,758 voters. Ramendra Narayan Kalita, a five-time MLA from AGP, was denied a party ticket this time. Kunki is the most-watched candidate this election. The Congress has come out in support of her, terming the CM allegations too low.