MODI MAY NOT CONTINUE FOR FIVE YEARS

GAURAV GOGOI, 41, won a tough fight in the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency, where he was up against the might of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

- SONI MISHRA

Sarma’s rivalry with Gogoi is no secret and his cabinet colleagues also campaigned in Jorhat, making it clear that it was a prestige battle. While the Congress did not increase its tally in Assam, Gogoi’s victory by a margin of 1.44 lakh votes is being projected as a moral defeat for Sarma.

In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Gogoi said the results in Assam had far greater significance compared with 2019, and that it should be seen as the semifinal before the 2026 assembly elections. Gogoi, who was the deputy leader of the Congress in the outgoing Lok Sabha, also spoke about his expectation that a strong opposition would hold the government to account in the house. Excerpts:

Q/ Would you rate Jorhat as your toughest electoral battle?

A/ It has been the toughest moment not only politically, but professionally, even when I compare with the time before I joined politics. Although I expected victory, the margin was unexpected. The amount of affection I got was unexpected. While the polling percentage dropped in many seats, in Jorhat it shot up by two points. People said they travelled for miles to cast their vote. I met a person who had come from Dubai just to vote.

Q/ The chief minister himself focused a lot on Jorhat. Did his campaign backfire?