NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday set the stage for a Gaurav Gogoi versus Himanta Biswa Sarma contest in the Assam assembly elections due next year. On Monday, Gogoi was elevated as president of the Assam Congress despite BJP’s all-out offensive against the Congress leader over his British wife’s alleged connection with the Pakistan spy agency ISI.Gogoi, the son of former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, has been engaged in a bitter, and often personal, war of words with Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for the last several months.With this move, the Congress has sent out a clear message to the BJP that it will not go on the backfoot over Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s unrelenting attacks against Gogoi. Gogoi vs Himanta Hours before this Congress announcement today, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had fired a fresh salvo against Gogoi and claimed that a senior leader of the grand-old-party had made a “startling confession” that Gogoi’s British wife was on the “payroll of the Pakistan government”.The Assam CM was referring to the statement of Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora that Gogoi’s British wife Elizabeth Colburn works in an international NGO, which has a network in Pakistan, along with other countries.“She might have visited Pakistan or got a salary for her work, what’s the problem with that? Likewise, many Pakistani people are working in India legally,” Bora had said at a press conference.The Congress leader had also cited the examples of S Jaishankar and Ajit Doval to buttress his point.“Our external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s wife is a Japanese citizen and their second child is a British citizen. Does it mean that we should doubt Jaishankar’s patriotism?” asked Bora.The Congress leader also took the example of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval’s younger son and brother, who have connections with Pakistan in their professional career.Himanta Sarma had last week alleged that Gaurav Gogoi had visited Pakistan on the invitation of ISI. “Whether he had gone to Pakistan or not, what is his children’s citizenship, whether his wife took salary from Pakistan or not, why he is waiting for the SIT, he can tell this to journalists. Himanta Biswa Sarma can tell a lie, but the Chief Minister of Assam cannot lie. If the Chief Minister of Assam lies, then a resolution should be taken out in the assembly, and the court can summon the Chief Minister. Wait till September 10,” the Assam CM had said.‘Wait for knockout punch’Gogoi is yet to give a direct reply or any clarification to these allegations. However, the Congress leader has questioned the mental health of Himanta Sarma and also attributed the chief minister’s offensive to “problems at the family front”. When asked for his reactions, Gogoi said the people should be patient as a “knockout punch is delivered at the end” of a boxing match.In a series of posts on X, Gogoi had said Sarma’s recent remarks were “insane and nonsense” and that he was behaving like an “IT cell troll” without talking with facts.“For some reason best known to him, I have been on his radar since my entry into Assam (politics). He has made many baseless remarks about me in the past 13 years. The most recent one borders on insanity and the absurd,” the Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha said.Gogoi also claimed that Sarma’s “inability” to provide evidence to back “Pakistan link” charges against the opposition leader is his “weakness”.Responding to a query about Sarma’s recent remarks that every proof will be presented before the public by September 10, the Congress leader questioned, “Is this a movie where the release date is pre-fixed? Are we watching Singham 1 or Singham 2?”The rivalry between the two leaders started when Himanta Sarma was in the Congress and was the favourite to take over the party’s reins from Congress veteran Tarun Gogoi, who was then the chief minister of Assam. However, then Gaurav Gogoi entered active politics under his father and started to get prominence in the party. This led to the exit of Sarma, who went on to join the BJP.Congress vs BJP The BJP stormed to power in Assam in 2016, winning 60 of the 126 assembly seats. While the BJP gained 55 seats compared to 2011, the Congress lost 52 seats. In 2021, the BJP maintained its score of 60 while the Congress made a marginal improvement of 3 seats and increased its tally to 29.
Assam 2021 assembly election results
As the two parties gear up for the 2026 battle, the stakes are high for both the parties. The Congress, which has lost two consecutive assembly elections in the state, will be desperate for a win this time around. Gaurav Gogoi will hope to ride on anti-incumbency against the BJP and help the Congress make a comeback in the state after a gap of 10 years.Himanta, who had quit the Congress in 2015, played a key role in helping the BJP conquer the northeast region. However, it was only in 2021 that he was made the chief minister by the BJP. The 2026 elections will be a test of his popularity as it will be fought on his five years of rule. He will be keen to lead the party to a third consecutive victory in the state.
