Miya, Axomia and Tea

The BJP hopes to sweep Assam in the Lok Sabha polls riding on PM Modi and CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's development and Hindutva agenda. The Opposition has constituency-specific strategies

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Snigdhendu Bhattacharya in Assam

UNION minister Sarbananda Sonowal is one of the two best-known sons of Chabua, a small town neighbouring the major commercial hub of Dibrugarh in upper or eastern Assam. The other is Paresh Baruah, the fugitive chief of the banned separatist organisation, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), who is rarely in the news these days. Now, two decades after his big-bang entry into state politics, Sonowal has many detractors in his hometown.

"Narendra Modi is great, Modi should remain the prime minister, but Lurinjyoti [Gogoi] can serve our Assamese purpose better," says Nipul Saikia, a small trader at Chabua, sitting at his shop, sipping his cup of Assam tea.

The contradiction in Saikia's wishes had to be pointed out. Gogoi is an opposition candidate from the Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP), a party launched in the aftermath of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. CAA protects Hindus of Bangladeshi origin from the citizenship screening exercise, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam. His victory would mean the defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Sonowal. And that would not help Modi secure a third term as PM. To this, Saikia nonchalantly responded, "Country is a big thing. If we think of our constituency, Gogoi is energetic, educated and dynamic. He has been uncompromising on the questions of Assamese identity. He should get a chance.”