WELCOME TO DISPUR RUGBY

3 candidates, 2 parties, | identity crisis as party-hopping begins in high-profile Assam seat @ All observers deputed from outside the state

- PRASANTA MAZUMDAR @ Guwahati

THE Dispur constituency in Guwahati is set for a high-stakes contest marked by political turncoats as Assam votes on April 9. The race features BJP’s Pradyut Bordoloi, Congress candidate Mira Borthakur Goswami, and independent Jayanta Kumar Das.

Bordoloi, who spent nearly four decades in the Congress, fell out with its state leadership before making a dramatic switch. He resigned from Congress one evening, joined the BJP the next morning, and was named its candidate the following day. At least two BJP ticket aspirants—party MLA in the seat Atul Bora and the seasoned worker Das—were hit by Bordoloi’s surprise candidacy.

Bora took it easy, at least on record, but Das spoke his heart out, launching a scathing attack on the BJP leadership, particularly Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and state president Dilip Saikia.

“Because of ‘CongBJP, I was under tremendous mental stress for a long time. I feel better now,” Das said on Tuesday, using the term to describe Congress turncoats in the BJP.