DIBRUGARH, March 4: The scheduling of the Lok Sabha elections during the Rongali Bihu has evoked much resentment among political parties here as well as the All Assam Karmachari Parishad. They have approached the Election Commissioner (EC) to change the dates.
The AGP MP from Dibrugarh, Sarbananda Sonowal, stated that setting the date during the Bohag Bihu reflected the anti-Asomiya stance of the EC. He said that all communities in the state observe the festival and seek the blessings of elders on the occasion.
Meanwhile, all political parties are gearing up to contest the elections. The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency includes the nine assembly segments of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. This was the Congress bastion, even when the AGP was at the height of popularity in the state. The sizeable number of tea tribes’ votes tilted the balance towards the party. However, the AGP candidate, Sarbananda Sonowal, captured the seat in 2004. There was division in the tea tribes’ vote as the BJP fielded Kamakhya Prasad Tassa, a member of that community and the former President of ATTSA. The polarization of votes and anti-incumbency went against Paban Singh Ghatowar of Congress, who was elected as the MP four times. After the tie up between AGP and BJP, there is all possibilities of Sonowal getting re-elected if the people loyal to BJP vote for him. Incidentally, Tassa is the BJP candidate who will contest from Jorhat in the forthcoming elections.
However, the tide could turn in favor of Ghatowar, the Congress candidate. In the last Panchayet elections, the Congress emerged victorious despite the ATTSA urging the tea tribes’ people to vote against them. If one were to go by that trend, the Congress stands to benefit. In the last five years, Ghatowar went out of his way to perk up his public liaison. The same cannot be said for Sonowal as he was mostly in New Delhi, busy as a Parliamentarian. THE SENTINEL
The AGP MP from Dibrugarh, Sarbananda Sonowal, stated that setting the date during the Bohag Bihu reflected the anti-Asomiya stance of the EC. He said that all communities in the state observe the festival and seek the blessings of elders on the occasion.
Meanwhile, all political parties are gearing up to contest the elections. The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency includes the nine assembly segments of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. This was the Congress bastion, even when the AGP was at the height of popularity in the state. The sizeable number of tea tribes’ votes tilted the balance towards the party. However, the AGP candidate, Sarbananda Sonowal, captured the seat in 2004. There was division in the tea tribes’ vote as the BJP fielded Kamakhya Prasad Tassa, a member of that community and the former President of ATTSA. The polarization of votes and anti-incumbency went against Paban Singh Ghatowar of Congress, who was elected as the MP four times. After the tie up between AGP and BJP, there is all possibilities of Sonowal getting re-elected if the people loyal to BJP vote for him. Incidentally, Tassa is the BJP candidate who will contest from Jorhat in the forthcoming elections.
However, the tide could turn in favor of Ghatowar, the Congress candidate. In the last Panchayet elections, the Congress emerged victorious despite the ATTSA urging the tea tribes’ people to vote against them. If one were to go by that trend, the Congress stands to benefit. In the last five years, Ghatowar went out of his way to perk up his public liaison. The same cannot be said for Sonowal as he was mostly in New Delhi, busy as a Parliamentarian. THE SENTINEL
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