2 former AASU leaders fight it out as 'Jatiya Nayak' returns to his roots

IT will be a battle between two former titans of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) - Sarbananda Sonowal and his much junior, Lurinjyoti Gogoi when the Dibrugarh seat goes to elections on April 19.

- PRASANTA MAZUMDAR

Sonowal (61), the BJP candidate and Union minister, earned the sobriquet "Jatiya Nayak" (National Hero) after the Supreme Court struck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act in 2005, based on a petition that he filed. He was then serving as an MP of the Asom Gana Parishad, the launchpad of his political career. The Act was viewed by many as heavily tilted in favor of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Gogoi (44), the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) biggie, is fighting another battle - the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). In fact, his AJP was born out of this movement in 2020.