Dibrugarh: Tinsukia’s historic oil town, Digboi, is set for a keenly contested electoral battle, with sitting BJP MLA Suren Phukan facing his most significant challenge yet from Raijor Dal’s first-timer Dulal Moran.TMC’s Jiten Nag, JMM’s Bharat Nayak and Independent candidate Lakheswar Moran are also in the fray, but political observers widely expect the principal contest to be a straight fight between BJP and Raijor Dal.Suren Phukan, 56, carries into this election the weight of a formidable track record. In 2016, he scripted history by becoming the first BJP candidate to ever win from Digboi, defeating Congress’s Gautam Dhanowar by 14,293 votes. He followed that up with an even more commanding performance in 2021, trouncing Congress candidate Shibanath Chetia by a massive margin of 26,976 votes. His growing margins suggest a consolidating support base.“The people of Digboi have given me two consecutive mandates, and I am grateful for their trust. We have worked hard to bring development to this constituency, and I am confident that the voters will once again recognise that commitment,” Phukan said.His challenger, Dulal Moran of Raijor Dal, is a political newcomer but is banking on the party’s regional identity appeal and the promise of fresh representation to make inroads into Phukan’s support base.“The people of Digboi deserve better. Issues like road conditions, oil spill damage to farmland and lack of clean drinking water are prevalent. Raijor Dal is committed to raising these concerns at every level and delivering accountability,” Moran said.The issues on the campaign trail are deeply rooted in Digboi’s unique character as a century-old oil town. Residents point to the deteriorating condition of roads in several areas, environmental damage caused by oil spills that have affected land and water sources over the years and the persistent lack of safe drinking water in parts of the constituency. For many voters, these are not new grievances but longstanding failures that successive govts have been slow to address.What lends Digboi its extraordinary electoral character, however, is its remarkably concentrated political history. Congress’s late Rameswar Dhanowar dominated Digboi politics like no other, winning eight consecutive elections from 1978 through 2011 — a record unmatched in the constituency’s history. After his passing, his son Gautam Dhanowar contested in 2016 in an attempt to carry forward the family legacy, but was defeated by Phukan, marking the end of an era of Congress dominance that had lasted four decades.
