Assam role reversal: Pradyut Bordoloi contests on BJP ticket, Rajen Gohain for AJP in Barhampur

NAGAON: It's a role reversal for politicians in Assam's Nagaon district with sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi leaving the party and currently contesting as a BJP candidate from the Dispur constituency in Guwahati, while BJP's poster boy of Hindutva of yesteryears Rajen Gohain is currently the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) candidate from Barhampur.

Barhampur is one the constituencies in Nagaon Lok Sabha seat. Former union minister and four-time BJP MP Rajen Gohain resigned from the BJP along with 17 others last year. AJP is an ally of Congress.

In 2021, BJP's Jitu Goswami defeated Congress's Suresh Bora. Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) founder leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta won this seat six times in a row. All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has fielded Mazibur Rahman from the seat in this year's election.


Recently there were clashes between the supporters of Gohain and BJP workers. A group of BJP workers started sloganeering "Gohain go back" while he was travelling in his car which the workers also forcibly managed to stop.

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AGP's minister Girindra Kumar Baruah got elected from the Barhampur seat for the first time in 1985. Later, former chief minister Mahanta consecutively retained the seat from 1991 to 2021. In 2021, BJP gained the constituency as part of a seat-sharing deal with AGP.

Barhampur has 3,20,471 electorates including 1,14,711 male, 1,15,751 female, and 9 transgender voters. There are over 74,000 Muslim voters and 40,000 tea tribe voters.

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In Nagaon's Batadroba assembly constituency, the fight is between sitting BJP candidate Rupak Sarma and Congress candidate and former MLA Dr Durlav Chamua.

BJP is projecting removing encroachment from Batadroba as as its major achievement. It is the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardev-the 15th century saint-reformer of Assam.

Political analysts said Gohain had wrested the Lok Sabha seat for BJP when the party was in a nascent stage in Assam. He is a tough contender and can turn tables around for the regional party AJP.