The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president, Gaurav Gogoi, is spearheading the party’s campaign in the April 9 Assembly polls. Known as an arch rival of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the 43-year-old three-time Lok Sabha MP, son of ex-CM late Tarun Gogoi, is also contesting the election from the Jorhat constituency. In an interview with The Indian Express, Gaurav speaks on multiple issues ranging from the Congress’s poll planks and major exits to the party-led alliance’s strategy and the Himanta-led BJP government’s performance. Excerpts:
I think there is a huge undercurrent of resentment against the BJP leadership, primarily due to Himanta Biswa Sarma’s leadership. The resentment is not just among voters, but also within the BJP. The Congress having formed an alliance with regional parties and the Left front, offers to the public a very vibrant alternative.
There are many issues people are unhappy with, corruption being number one, but also uneven development that is taking place where most of the big projects are restricted to Guwahati. The menace of drugs and alcohol has scaled up. Basic services that people should be receiving whether education, health, law and order or getting their land pattas regularised by their local circle offices – the quality of governance in these basic functions has deteriorated. So I think there is a huge expectation that once the Congress-led government comes to the state, we will work hard to turn around several of these factors.
Welfare schemes are key to the BJP’s outreach in this election. How would the Congress counter it?
Welfare schemes were delivered to the people of Assam earlier too… (But now) when it comes to implementation of these schemes, it is a completely different picture… (Regarding) schemes for women, there is a huge resentment that through them, women are being forced to join the BJP, to carry out its political activities… If they are not doing so, their names are deleted from these schemes. These taxpayers-funded schemes are being used by the BJP to exploit poor women and make them political workers against their will.
When we come up with welfare schemes, they will be unconditional and not tied to any party’s activities. What we are promising on top of these schemes is a huge improvement in basic governance, especially in education, health, drinking water, and the regularisation of land records. And also while tangible material benefits are important, people are also worried about how they are living in a state of fear and insecurity. And how people feel is also very important. These are intangible benefits that people are assured will come when the Congress comes to power.
This is your first plunge into a state election, after having been engaged in parliamentary politics so far. And besides contesting as a candidate, you are also leading a party and its alliance. How difficult has it been to transition to this role?
It has been a team effort. I’ve learnt from many experienced in state politics… from many who have formed alliances in Assam and other states. It has been a collective effort… There are many individuals and groups outside our party who have also reached out to me with their suggestions and advice. Therefore, what we are seeing in this Assam election is actually a network, a coalition of like-minded groups, individuals, academicians, intellectuals, young people, creative artists, people in the media and political parties, all coming with the same goal of making a new greater Assam.
There have been some high-profile exits from the Congress under your leadership. There were signs of discontent among these leaders (Bhupen Borah and Pradyot Bordoloi). Why has the party not been able to retain them despite red flags along the way?
These exits from the Congress are very recent… But if you look back, from 10th September onwards, every month, we have been bringing in people from the BJP, AGP, and other smaller outfits into the Congress. Up till January, we have been inducting former MLAs, contesting candidates, and if people were not coming to the Congress, we were making them part of our allies. A former Union minister Rajen Gohain went to the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). We had former MLAs – Mansing Rongpi, Satyabrat Kalita, and Binanda Saikia — join us a few months ago. And recently, we had a former minister Nandita Gorlosa, who did not get a ticket (from the BJP) join the Congress, and ex-MLA from Barak Valley, Amar Chand Jain, too.
But what I’ve seen is that as a result of these two individuals (Bhupen Borah and Pradyot Bordoloi) joining the BJP, the BJP house has become fragmented and divided. Many people have since left the BJP, both in the seat where Pradyut Bordoloi is contesting and in the district where Bhupen Borah is contesting. In a way, the induction of these two individuals has increased the divisions within the BJP. Many people are saying they do not recognise the BJP, and that it is in fact full of old Congress leaders, who have come together under the banner of Himanta Biswa Sarma, and this election is about the Himanta-led Congress versus a new regenerated Congress which practices the ideals espoused by the late Tarun Gogoi.
But Pradyot Bordoloi was playing a big role in the Congress’s poll preparations. Has his last-minute switch not dented these efforts and the party’s image?
He (Bordoloi) made several statements against the government as the Congress manifesto committee chairman and I think it’s for him to decide whether he was genuine when he was criticising the government and laying out a chargesheet against it. He seems to have disowned his own chargesheet now. It is his personal decision. He is someone who used to contest from Upper Assam, over the last 7-8 years he was getting Lok Sabha tickets from Middle Assam, and in this election, his son also got the opportunity to represent the Congress — and he still feels as if his stature within the party was diminished, that is his personal view.
The Congress-led coalition was firmed up after many hurdles only last week. It looks very different from your 2021 poll alliance. How do you think this would play out now?
It’s a very interesting alliance. You have the Congress and Left front, you have a party active in the Sixth Schedule areas of Karbi Anglong, a party grown out of the All Assam Students’ Union, and a party which has come out of a farmers’ movement. We all complement each other, bring different strengths to our coalition. We have been in the Opposition for the past 10 years, and people have seen us always raising their voices, holding the government accountable. I am not sure of the last time the Congress has created such a vibrant coalition while still managing to contest 100 seats (of the state’s 126 seats). There has been a lot of backroom work not only among the state leadership but also the national leadership.
In 2021, the Congress was decimated in Upper Assam. How is the party trying to reverse it this time?
The coalition is part of that strategy. Last time we didn’t ally with the Raijor Dal and AJP and lost in 16-17 seats by a very narrow margin. And I believe that had we created an alliance with these two parties back then, we would have formed the government. So to prevent the division of any anti-BJP votes is one strategy. The second part is really listening to the people dissatisfied in Upper Assam and tribal areas. The fact that under this government, nearly 40,000 bighas or 3,400 acres were sold to big corporates without taking into confidence the local tribals, that’s a huge issue.
The other issue resonating in Upper Assam is the corruption taking place in Jal Jeevan Mission. Crores of money was spent but nobody is getting access to drinking water through these pipes. And the economy of Upper Assam has really stagnated. Most of the work in this government is done by big contractors in Guwahati, smaller local businesses are completely ignored.
You are yourself up against a local BJP veteran in the Jorhat seat, but as the APCC chief you are also required to campaign across the state. Is your campaign thus getting too stretched?
Volunteers and the party organisation are playing a big part in my campaign in Jorhat because as the state president, my first and foremost responsibility is to make the Congress win in Assam. I hadn’t asked to contest as a candidate myself but I’m always open to abide by the decision of my party. I also agree that it’s a bold decision. There were other aspirants from Jorhat and I’m now grateful that they have come together and are continuing to work for the party to ensure its victory in the seat.
When did you actually know that you would be contesting in the election?
At the last minute. But in the party they have given me so many opportunities, which I’m grateful for. I’ve grown a lot in a very short span of time. And I am happy to abide by the party’s decision.