Sivasagar: Once the capital of the Ahom kingdom, which ruled large parts of Assam for 600 years, the prestigious Sibsagar constituency has never been an NDA stronghold.Even after the Modi wave swept Assam, the saffron party has failed to win Sibsagar over the past decade. After being defeated by Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, a prominent Ahom leader, in the last election, NDA now faces a tricky situation in Sibsagar. BJP and AGP, alliance partners in NDA, will be contesting against each other as well as against Akhil.
Voters say whoever wins should ensure Sibsagar gets the iconic status it truly deserves, especially after the Centre announced, several years ago, that it would develop Sivasagar as one of the country’s top five iconic archaeological sites. Sivasagar district is known for Ahom-era historic monuments, including Rang Ghar, one of Asia’s oldest surviving amphitheatres.Sitting MLA Akhil said he would do everything possible to make Sivasagar iconic. “I have been the most vocal MLA. Let our govt come, Sibsagar constituency will sparkle like a jewel, just like it was during the glorious days of Ahom rule,” said Akhil.“We want Sibsagar to be a major tourist attraction in upper Assam. The facilities at the historic monuments are not yet world class. An iconic status remains a distant dream,” said Ratna Mohan Das, a voter of Sibsagar.A key face of the opposition alliance with Congress, Akhil said the people of Sivasagar have self-respect and that BJP cannot win the seat merely through beneficiary schemes. “Sibasagar is the centrepoint of Assamese regionalism. People are proud of its heritage and history and that is why they do not feel afraid to vote against the ruling party. That happened when I won last time,” Akhil added.Sibsagar has earlier elected veteran CPI leader Pramod Gogoi multiple times. It also sent former Speaker late Pranab Gogoi to the assembly. Pranab Gogoi was known to have differences with former CM Tarun Gogoi while trying to implement the Assam Accord, and he had made strong efforts to define who is an “Assamese”.Akhil said AGP candidate and sitting Amguri MLA Pradip Hazarika may secure a few thousand votes, but his main fight is likely to be against BJP candidate Kushal Duwari, a surrendered ULFA leader who was once a terror during the peak of the insurgency.After delimitation, Sibsagar has seen boundary changes, but Ahoms still make up the largest voter group at an estimated 32%, followed by other general caste voters at around 28-30%. There are around 2.09 lakh voters in Sibsagar.Kushal is an Ahom, while Pradip is not. “Only Kushal can defeat Akhil Gogoi. I worked hard to build BJP’s organisation in Sibsagar over the last four years,” said Kushal. He claimed to have worked on govt schemes related to the development of ‘namghars’, as well as two major beneficiary schemes — Orunodoi and the Mahila Udyamita Scheme. “My effort will be to bring govt schemes directly from CM,” Kushal added.AGP working president Keshab Mahanta said the party is certain of victory its in Sibsagar. “Pradip Hazarika has been fielded to defeat Akhil Gogoi. It was a political strategy to field both AGP and BJP candidates in Sibsagar,” said Mahanta.
