Dibrugarh: The Lakhimpur Assembly constituency is set for a keenly contested straight fight between sitting BJP MLA Manab Deka and veteran Congress leader Ghana Buragohain. Three other candidates — Birinchi Pegu of SUCI (Communist), Nurul Ali of the Rashtriya Ulama Council, and Independent candidate Hemanta Boruah — are also in the fray but are unlikely to significantly alter the principal contest.The election carries special significance for BJP, as 50-year-old Manab Deka scripted history in 2021 by becoming the party’s first-ever winner from the Lakhimpur assembly seat. He defeated Congress candidate Joy Prakash Das by 3,036 votes, polling 70,387 against Das’s 67,351 — a margin that reflected a shift in the constituency’s long-standing political preferences.“When I came to Lakhimpur as BJP’s candidate in 2021, many said it was an impossible task. The people of Lakhimpur proved them wrong. They gave me their trust, and I have spent every day of the last five years trying to honour that trust through concrete development work on the ground,” Deka said, pointing to his tenure’s track record ahead of polling.Among his most celebrated achievements is the construction of the Lovlina Borgohain Sports Arena in Lakhimpur, a state-of-the-art multi-sports complex named after the celebrated Olympic boxer from Assam. The facility has become a symbol of Deka’s developmental ambitions for the constituency and a source of considerable local pride. Road infrastructure improvement has also been a visible part of his five-year record, though he acknowledges that much remains to be done.“We have improved roads, brought new projects, and changed the face of this constituency. But I also know the work is not finished, and the people of Lakhimpur will give me the opportunity to complete what I have started,” Deka added.His opponent, 60-year-old Ghana Buragohain, is no stranger to Lakhimpur politics. A Congress stalwart, Buragohain won from this very seat in 2006, defeating AGP (Progressive) candidate Utpal Dutta by 4,449 votes, polling 40,411 against Dutta’s 35,962. Though away from the assembly for nearly two decades, Buragohain is banking on his experience and Congress’s historical dominance in the constituency to mount a serious challenge.“Development is not only about one sports arena. The people of Lakhimpur are battling floods every year, the town’s drainage system is in shambles, its roads are choked with congestion, and our youth are leaving in search of work. Five years have passed, and these fundamental problems remain unresolved. The people deserve better,” Buragohain said, making a pointed case against Deka’s incumbency.Lakhimpur’s electoral history highlights how competitive this constituency has been. Of the 11 elections held since 1972, the AGP has won five times, the Congress four times, the CPI once, and the BJP once. AGP’s Utpal Dutta was particularly dominant, winning five times — in 1985, 1996, 2001, 2011, and 2016.Flood devastation, a poorly maintained drainage system in Lakhimpur town, chronic road congestion, and youth unemployment remain the constituency’s most pressing concerns — issues that both candidates have placed at the heart of their campaigns as polling day approaches.
