Straight fight between new BJP and Congress faces in Tinsukia Assembly constituency

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TINSUKIA: In 86-Tinsukia LAC, there will be a straight contest between BJP candidate Pulak Gohain and INC candidate Devid Phukan, though 8 others from different political parties and Independent candidates are also in the fray.

Tinsukia, which was a stronghold of Congress, lost its vote base almost completely after the BJP captured the district, especially the tea garden belt.

Significantly, both the young candidates, Pulak Gohain and Devid Phukan, are completely new faces in the political scenario and have never had any direct contact with voters. The voters, too, are not aware of their societal contribution.

While Phukan has to start from ground zero, Pulak Gohain begins in a political setting that was created by his predecessor and 2-time MLA Sanjoy Kishan. Nevertheless, it might be difficult for Pulak Gohain to garner the support of urban voters owing to his AASU background, while Devid Phukan, on the other hand, with his clean image, may be able to impress voters as the electorate appears to be disgruntled with the performance of Sanjoy Kishan and might be looking for a change.

Though veteran district Congress and tea tribe leaders have alienated themselves from the political scenario, several young Congress workers have been inducted into the election job.

The Bengali voters, constituting around 66,000 out of the total electorate of 1,72,351, which is 38.2 percent, will be the key factor, followed by approximately 48,000 Assamese voters constituting around 26.8 percent.

Before delimitation, the tea tribe voters or Adivasi voters played a significant role, but presently this community has been relegated to 11.6 percent of voters, while Hindi-speaking voters, mainly Biharis and Marwaris, stand at 13.3 percent.

The electorate from other communities, like Punjabi, Nepali, etc., constitutes around 4.4 percent, while the Muslim voters constitute around 6.3 percent.

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