Gaurav Gogoi to contest from Jorhat in upcoming Assam assembly polls

Gaurav Gogoi will contest the forthcoming Assam Assembly elections from the Jorhat constituency, placing the state Congress chief at the centre of the party’s campaign strategy.

The announcement came on March 3 as the Congress released its first list of 42 candidates for the 126-member Assembly, well ahead of the formal poll notification. The early declaration signals a calibrated move to project Gogoi as the party’s principal face in a state where it has been out of power since 2016.

Alongside Gogoi’s candidature from Jorhat, Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia has been fielded from Nazira, while former Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Ripun Bora will contest from Barchalla.

The list, released by All India Congress Committee general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, includes Abdus Sobahan Ali Sarkar from Gauripur, Markline Marak from Goalpara West (Scheduled Tribe), Girish Baruah from Bongaigaon and Mahananda Sarkar from Barpeta (Scheduled Caste).

Ramen Singh Rabha will contest from Boko-Chaygaon (ST), Nandita Das from Hajo-Sualkuchi (SC) and Satyabrat Kalita from Kamalpur. Mira Borthakur Goswami has been named for Dispur, Diganta Barman for Barkhetri and Ashok Kumar Sarma for Nalbari.

Assembly elections in Assam are expected to be held in April. With Gogoi stepping into the fray from Jorhat, the Congress appears to be banking on consolidated leadership as it seeks to regain political ground in the state.