Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan on Friday released the BJP's Sankalp Patra for the upcoming Assam Assembly election, outlining a set of promises centred on flood control, judicial access, and infrastructure — as he seeks a fifth consecutive term from a seat he has held since 2006.
Speaking to reporters, Phukan framed flood and erosion as his primary concern for the constituency. "We are fully committed to work for the all-round development of Assam. In our manifesto, we have especially given stress to solving the flood and erosion problems in Dibrugarh," he said.
Also Read: Dibrugarh Assembly Seat 2026: AJP's Mainak Patra Challenges Four-Term MLA Prasanta Phukan
Two of Phukan's headline promises are likely to resonate well beyond the constituency's boundaries.
He announced that a bench of the Gauhati High Court would be established in Dibrugarh — a long-pending demand that would spare residents of Upper Assam from travelling to Guwahati for document submissions and case-related procedures. "People from Upper Assam will not need to go to Gauhati High Court," he said.
He also promised the upgrade of Dibrugarh airport into an international airport, describing it as part of the government's broader push toward infrastructural development in the Upper Assam region.
Phukan's electoral journey in Dibrugarh is one of the more remarkable stories in Assam's recent political history.
He became the first BJP candidate to win the seat in 2006, defeating Congress MLA Dr Kalyan Kumar Gogoi by a razor-thin margin of just 175 votes. Since then, his winning margins have grown dramatically — from 19,609 votes in 2011 to a commanding 38,005 votes over the Congress in 2021, turning what was once a marginal win into one of Assam's safest BJP seats.
Despite his dominance at the ballot box, Phukan heads into the 2026 election with some unresolved local grievances hanging over his campaign.
Residents continue to voice frustration over chronic waterlogging in urban areas and the incomplete work on the Dibrugarh Town Protection Drain — infrastructure concerns that opponents are likely to highlight as the campaign intensifies.
Dibrugarh's electoral record stretches back decades and carries significant historical weight. Since 1972, the Congress has won the seat six times, the BJP four times, and the Janata Party once.
The constituency is also famously associated with the legacy of Keshab Chandra Gogoi — father of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi — who won the seat three times for the Congress and once for the Janata Party, and briefly served as Chief Minister of Assam in 1982.