High-stakes Samaguri, Behali drive BJP’s perfect 5-0 by-poll victory

Guwahati, Nov 24: The Samaguri and Behali seats attracted the most attention in the lead-up to the just-concluded by-elections for five Assembly constituencies in Assam. Whether it was the severe pre-poll violence in the minority-dominated Samaguri or the breakup of the Opposition alliance, Asom Sonmolito Morcha (ASOM), over a candidacy conundrum in Behali, these seats provided the most fodder for speculation ahead of the by-polls.

On Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) achieved a perfect 5-0 in the by-poll results, and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was quick to express his elation. He hailed the victories in Samaguri and Behali as a testament to the people’s faith in the ruling party.

“A ruling party doesn’t win 5-0 in a by-poll unless the voters have faith in the government or are seeking change. Today’s victory reflects the mood of the people of Assam,” he said during a live session on social media on Saturday evening.

CM hails Samaguri win; Congress calls it ‘sticks & stones’ politics

The Chief Minister was quick to point out that the win in Samaguri is a “premium” for the BJP, on top of its 5-0 victory, as dethroning Congress in its stronghold after 25 years wasn’t an easy feat. “The demography of the constituency is minority-dominated, and for the past 25 years, it has been a Congress stronghold. Winning here wasn’t easy, and ahead of the elections, when asked by a journalist, I had said that BJP aimed to win 4 out of the 5 seats this time. So, winning the Samaguri seat is a bonus, over and above the 100% mandate that the people gave us during the by-polls,” said Chief Minister Sarma.

Claiming that BJP's win in Samaguri will bring a “paradigm shift” in the state's politics, the Chief Minister added that the victory proved Congress’ longstanding appeasement policy towards a particular community had failed to sway the electorate.

“It has always been Congress’ agenda to appease a particular community, but this time, it has failed. From the start, BJP has made its agenda clear—‘Appeasement to none; justice to all’. People in Samaguri have embraced that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Congress continued to criticise the BJP for allegedly using the administration against the Opposition during the campaign in Samaguri. They accused BJP of playing a "game of sticks and stones" to secure the win.

“Throughout the election campaign, we lodged complaints with the Election Commission about the nefarious tactics used by the BJP, but to no avail. One must acknowledge that thousands of youth from Samaguri work in states like Karnataka and Kerala. They weren’t present during the voting, but their votes were cast on polling day. We raised complaints about all of this, but no action was taken. Additionally, the campaign of violence that the BJP orchestrated in Samaguri will be remembered by the people of Assam,” said Bora.

CM calls Congress campaign in Behali feudal; Gogoi sees silver lining

The Behali seat garnered significant attention during the run-up to the by-polls, as the Opposition’s united front, Asom Sonmolito Morcha (ASOM), fractured over disputes regarding candidacy among alliance partners. However, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma remarked that the real spotlight on Behali was due to Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi camping in the constituency for three months prior to the election.

“It’s not wrong to camp in a constituency to help a party candidate win,” said the Chief Minister. “But when Gaurav Gogoi volunteered to oversee the campaign in Behali to defeat a representative of the tea tribe—a son of a tea worker—I sensed a whiff of feudalism in the act. Why would a former Chief Minister’s son do that? It reminded me of Congress’ long-standing neglect of the tea tribe community. During their rule, there was barely a high school for the community, and they were deprived of their rights. While we cannot solve all issues overnight, the BJP’s government has brought change over the past years, and that change was reflected in the poll results.”

Meanwhile, Gaurav Gogoi, the Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has taken full responsibility for Congress’ defeat in Behali. “I take complete responsibility for the loss in Behali,” Gogoi told the press after the results were announced.

Despite the setback, Gogoi pointed out a silver lining in the party’s performance. “Even without an alliance, we managed to take on the BJP in one of their traditional strongholds. We’ve also managed to reduce the vote difference with the BJP. Despite the entire BJP cabinet camping in Behali for three months, we achieved this result,” he added.

On Congress’ next move, the Jorhat MP outlined his focus on strengthening the party in Northeastern Assam. “Our immediate goal is to rebuild and fortify the organisation. That will be my priority in the coming days,” he said.