Guwahati: Congress leader Bidisha Neog, whom the party named on Friday night as its candidate from Jalukbari against chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, went directly to singer Zubeen Garg’s cremation site in Sonapur on Saturday to seek blessings before beginning her campaign.A relatively new entrant to Congress and the only prominent leader to seek a ticket against Himanta, Neog said “Justice for Zubeen” would be the central theme of her campaign. She alleged that Himanta had said there was no need to vote for the BJP until Zubeen received justice, but she claimed the party had not kept its promise to pursue justice for the singer.
“People are upset with the present govt, which has failed to deliver justice to Zubeen da. Since I am contesting on behalf of the common people, we will strongly fight for justice for him. Zubeen da is above all politics but justice for him will definitely be the main plank of my campaign as it is the main demand of the people of Assam today,” Bidisha said.Himanta has represented the Jalukbari seat in Guwahati since 2001, when he defeated former home minister and a leading figure of the Assam agitation, late Bhrigu Kumar Phukan. Although Bidisha joined Congress around three years ago and has no prior experience in any other political party, she said the chief minister is not unbeatable despite his political strength.In the 2021 assembly election, Congress candidate Romen Chandra Borthakur received 28,851 votes, while Himanta registered a landslide victory with a margin of over one lakh votes. Himanta got 1,30,762 votes in Jalukbari in the last election.Nevertheless, Bidisha said she enjoys the support of Jalukbari’s younger generation and is helping Congress regain ground in the constituency. “People losing their land in the name of urbanisation and city expansion under the BJP-led govt in Jalukbari and the politics of hatred and communalism will be my poll planks,” she added.“Though the people of Jalukbari are silent, they are angry at Himanta Biswa Sarma. People of Jalukbari are thinking about the entire state and that is why they think it is necessary to remove him from Jalukbari,” she said.Bidisha is a resident and voter of Jalukbari.Earlier, while visiting Zubeen Kshetra, Bidisha said she felt fortunate to represent Congress from Jalukbari. “Our fight in Jalukbari is not a personal one. It is a fight to build Bor Asom (Greater Assam) and against corruption,” she said.
