FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
TINSUKIA, May 20: The people of Digboi are overwhelmed after declaration of election results which brought culmition of long 38 years of dystic rule of Dhanwar’s. Suren Phukan of BJP defeated Gautam Dhanwar son of veteran Congress leader and former minister Rameswar Dhanwar by a comfortable margin of 14,267 votes. While Suren Phukan secured 49123 votes, Gautam Dhanwar got only 34856. A quantum portion of garden votes which comprises around 15% of the total electorate of 1, 12,986 opted out of Congress pocket to which Dhanwar relied and sat comfortably over the years knowing not much that the saffron brigade had percolated deep inside the tea belt through their youth wings in past couple of years.
A cross section of people cutting across all affiliations desired to have a change in Digboi, a historical township which comprises highest number of educated urban electorate employed in AOD, IOC, educatiol institutions, fincial institutions who otherwise till last election remained unconcerned even abstained from exercising their franchise, waked up this time along with the rest of State for a poriborton, which Dhanwar undermined.
A good number of people opined that when Rameswar Dhanwar did not do 38 notable public services in 38 years of his tenure other than distributing MLA funds at his whims and recommendations of beneficiaries besides making his own fortunes including a private junior college, they never expected much from his son Gautam Dhanwar who would have followed same trail of his father. Bestowing high expectation on Suren Phukan, the denizens of Digboi feel Phukan in association with Digboi town committee would take up some important issues that would mitigate public woes.