After a resounding victory, daunting task ahead for new Margherita MLA
From our Correspondent
TINSUKIA, May 21: In an ambience of total hostility and antagonism, Bhaskar Sharma of BJP successfully grounded the most charismatic political figure in State politics -Pradyut Bordoloi -in a hotly debated contest ever encountered by Bordoloi in his 17 years political career in Margherita constituency.
Bhaskar Sharma, whose credentials have been wrongly projected for political mileage by a section of print and electronic media, even by ULFA’s C-in-C Paresh Baruah, did not work well. On the contrary, this negative publicity, instead of alieting the electorates, created tremendous sympathy for Bhaskar Sharma. Initially Bhaskar Sharma, hailing from the Nepali community, a contractor by profession and married to a Khamti woman, never thought of being a party candidate after representations from local candidates flooded the high command against his candidature. But to his utter surprise, the party high command’s decision went in his favour.
On the other hand, Pradyut Bordoloi was strategically wrong this time. He undermined the strength and sentiments of the common people, particularly of Buridihingmauza, which led to his downfall. In course of electioneering Buridihingmauza became a decisive factor after the entire mauza comprising of more than 60,000 voters revolted against Bordoloi who had not even visited the area 17 times in his 17 years political career. Bordoloi, who was under an impression that the simple living ethnic voters of the mauza, the most neglected area in the constituency, would succumb to his tall promises as usual. People of mauza even allegedly denied access to Bordoloi who paid no heed to the plight of villagers. He relied more on multi diversified community pockets as his party strategists suggested, completely ignoring real ground data emating from people’s sentiments.
As a Minister of Forest and Environment, Industries and Commerce and Power, Bordoloi’s performance was below expectation. As a forest minister he did not step in Dibru-Saikhowa tiol Park even for once, the project on Stilwell Road did not go beyond Panchu-Lake of No Return in Myanmar, the tribal huts built during Dihing-Patkai Festival one-and-a half decades back with Bordoloi at the helm of affairs, at present almost defunct, were at the cost of the mphai reserve which was completely denuded and an illegal settlement had sprung up in place with anti-socials having their field day all along from mchik to Jagun. Today dilapidated huts at Lekhapani near Chu-Ka-Pha gate bear the testimony of mphai timbers and logs.
Bhaskar Sharma has a quite challenging task ahead, the vast majority of Buridihing and Tirapmauza are looking for some changes in their basic living conditions even as the constituency is infested with insurgent groups like ULFA and Maoists. NSCN-IM, K and R groups are very active in the Margherita-Aruchal Pradesh border, it will pose serious threats in future in the entire district and Margherita in particular, if not timely contained and above all the big mafia players operating in the coal and oil belts are to be reckoned with at the back drop of on-going illegal collection and extortion.
