Assam Congress Leader Faces Imminent Poll Defeats: Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah

Key Takeaways

Minister Mallabaruah criticizes Bhupen Borah's leadership.
Congress reportedly lacks public support in Assam.
Panchayat elections scheduled for April.
BJP and allies won recent assembly bypolls.
Accusations of vote rigging in Samaguri constituency.

Guwahati, March 28 (NationPress) The Assam Public Health Engineering Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah criticized state Congress president Bhupen Borah on Friday, claiming the opposition leader is poised to set a "record of defeats" in the upcoming Panchayat polls.

Minister Mallabaruah stated to reporters, "Since Bhupen Borah took over as the state president of the Congress party, he has faced losses in every election. He has suffered defeats in multiple Assembly elections and is on track to establish a record of continuous defeats in future polls."

The Minister emphasized that the Congress has lost the trust of the public in Assam, predicting a significant setback in the forthcoming Panchayat elections as well.

"The public has turned away from the Congress party entirely. They have lost support and are disconnected from the grassroots. The BJP enjoys substantial backing among voters, which is our advantage," he remarked.

The Panchayat elections are scheduled for April in Assam.

In November of the previous year, five assembly seats in Assam - Dholai, Behali, Samaguri, Bongaigaon, and Sidli - were contested in by-elections after the legislators from these areas were elected to the Lok Sabha during the general elections.

The BJP, along with its allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), secured victories in the aforementioned Assembly seats. In contrast, Congress failed to win any of the five contested seats.

The opposition party even lost its stronghold, the Samaguri Assembly constituency, where Congress stalwart and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain's son, Tanzil Hussain, lost to BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah.

Rakibul Hussain had been representing Samaguri since 2001 and vacated his seat after winning in the Lok Sabha.

The Congress MP accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of manipulating the administrative machinery to "rig" votes in the Samaguri Assembly constituency.

He asserted, "We did not lose in Samaguri. It was CM Sarma who utilized the voting machinery to seize booths and conducted widespread rigging in various locations."

Hussain went on to say: "Chief Minister Sarma is now trying to gain a portion of minority religious votes in the upcoming elections, and this strategy may lead to the BJP's downfall in the 2026 Assembly elections."

"I recall the AGP once aimed for Muslim votes while neglecting their traditional voter base. This led to the AGP being ousted from power in the subsequent elections," he concluded.