Tarun Gogoi has edge over first-time BJP MP in Jorhat

TITABOR(ASSAM): The prestigious Titabor Assembly constituency has traditionally returned Congress candidates since Independence, except once, and this time too Congress candidate and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has an edge over his challenger - young BJP Jorhat MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa.

Titabor in Jorhat district has elected Tarun Gogoi consecutively since 2001 after his brother Dip Gogoi vacated the seat for him.

Gogoi's rival 40-year-old BJP candidate Kamakhya Prasad Tasa is trying his luck in the Assembly election after scoring a huge success in the 2014 Lok Sabha election in which he defeated six-time Congress MP and former Union minister late B K Handique from the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency.

Nestled amidst lush green tea gardens, Titabor has a predominant Ahom and tea tribe population who are traditional Congress supporters though in some pockets their loyalty has shifted to the BJP in recent years.

The anti-incumbency factor notwithstanding, the chief minister is confident about retaining the seat which has been held by the Congress since Independence barring once in 1996 when it was wrested by the AGP.

"I am overwhelmed by the love and support of the large number of people who came out during the filing of my nomination and also in the election rally that I addressed here," Gogoi said.

Titabor is also the headquarter of the Thengal Kachari Autonomous Council with the community expected to throw their weight behind the Chief Minister.

The Thengal Kacharis are very grateful to the chief minister for ensuring the creation of the Autonomous Council and for initiating several development projects in the constituency," the chief minister's campaign manager, Kamal Kachari, said.