Assam verdict deals blow to political legacies, sons of former chief ministers defeated

Electoral setbacks for prominent political families marked the Assam Assembly results, with three sons of former chief ministers losing their constituencies by significant margins.

Gaurav Gogoi, president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee and a three-time Lok Sabha MP, was defeated in Jorhat. Son of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, he lost to sitting BJP MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami by 23,182 votes. Tarun Gogoi had led Congress governments in the state for 15 years, making him its longest-serving chief minister.

Debabrata Saikia, son of former chief minister Hiteswar Saikia, also failed to retain Nazira, a constituency long associated with his family. Representing the seat since 2011 and serving as Leader of the Opposition since 2016, he was defeated by BJP’s Mayur Borgohain by more than 46,000 votes. The seat had earlier been held by his parents, including former MLA Hemoprava Saikia.

Another defeat came in Barkhetri, where Diganta Barman, son of former chief minister Bhumidhar Barman, lost to BJP candidate Narayan Deka by over 84,000 votes.

Reacting to the outcome, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said there was “nothing good to feel in someone’s loss”, adding, “especially when it is Hiteswar Saikia’s son.” He described the results as a rejection of “politics of blue blood”.

“The politics of blue blood has been rejected by the people. They had won three or four previous elections and had time to make their own identities. But they couldn’t do it,” Sarma said.

He added that similar outcomes were seen in other constituencies, pointing to the defeat of Pranjal Ghatowar, son of former Union minister Paban Sing Ghatowar, who lost in Chabua-Lahowal to BJP’s Binod Hazarika by a margin exceeding 89,000 votes.