Assam: Know your Lok Sabha constituency: Its Gogoi vs Sonowal in Dibrugarh

Guwahati: Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency in Assam is a strategic battleground for all major political parties.

As one of the fourteen constituencies in Assam, all eyes are on this seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, particularly with Assam Jatiya Parishad’s (AJP) Lurin Jyoti Gogoi taking on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heavyweight Sarbananda Sonowal, former chief minister of Assam and a current union minister.

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Sarbananda Sonowal and Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, both products of the powerful All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), will vie for a win from the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat in Assam.

The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency in Assam is scheduled to vote in the first phase of elections on April 19.

BJP’s Sarbananda Sonowal eyes Lok Sabha win

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Sarbananda Sonowal is serving as the Union cabinet minister of ports, shipping and waterways, as well as the cabinet minister of AYUSH.

Since 2021, he has represented Assam in the Rajya Sabha and has been a member of the cabinet committee on political affairs.

Sonowal held the position of the chief minister of Assam from 2016 to 2021 and previously served as a member of the Assam legislative assembly representing Majuli from 2016 until his resignation in 2021, and earlier, representing the Moran constituency from 2001 to 2004.

He also held key roles within the BJP, serving as the Assam state unit president of the party in Assam from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2016.

It was during Sarbananda Sonowal’s tenure as president of the Assam BJP that the saffron party secured key electoral wins in Assam, both in Lok Sabha as well as assembly elections.

He has also been a member of the Lok Sabha, representing Lakhimpur from 2014 to 2016 and Dibrugarh from 2004 to 2009.

Earlier in his political career, Sonowal was associated with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) from 2001 to 2011.

From 1992 to 1999, Sarbananda Sonowal had served as the president of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the oldest student organization in Assam.

AJP pins hope on Lurin Jyoti Gogoi

Similar to the BJP’s strategy, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has chosen a candidate renowned for his grassroots activism.

AJP announced Lurinjyoti Gogoi, its president and a prominent figure in the anti-CAA movement in Assam, as its candidate for the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency.

Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, a former general secretary of AASU, has been vocal against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam.

After his candidacy was announced, Lurin Jyoti Gogoi stated that it is a battle for justice against the “injustice perpetrated by the BJP through the imposition of the CAA on the indigenous population of Assam”.

About the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat

The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency is among the 14 parliamentary constituencies in the Northeast state of Assam.

The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency comprises the following assembly segments: Margherita, Digboi, Makum and Tinsukia assembly constituencies in Tinsukia district of Assam; Chabua-Lahowal, Dibrugarh, Khowang, Duliajan, Tingkhong and Naharkatia assembly seats in Dibrugarh district of Assam.

The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat in Assam has been in existence ever since the first parliamentary elections were held in the country in 1952.

Politicians to have represented Dibrugarh in the Lok Sabha are JN Hazarika, Robindronath Kakoti, Haren Bhumji and Paban Singh Ghatowar of the Congress party; Sarbananda Sonowal while he was in the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Rameshwar Teli of the BJP.

2019 Lok Sabha elections: Dibrugarh
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BJP	Rameswar Teli	6,59,583	64.94	+9.46
	INC	Paban Singh Ghatowar	2,95,017	29.04	-5.64
	NOTA	None of the Above	21,288	2.10	+1.01
Majority			3,64,566	35.90	+15.09
Turnout			10,15,992	77.30

2014 Lok Sabha elections: Dibrugarh
Party				Candidate			Votes	%			±%
	BJP			Rameswar Teli			4,94,364	55.48			+55.48
	INC			Paban Singh Ghatowar			3,09,017	34.68			-13.19
	AGP			Anup Phukan			45,710	5.13			-38.06
	CPI(ML)L			Subhas Sen			9,374	1.05			-0.05
	AITC			Navajyoti Kalita			8,582	0.96			+0.96
	AIFB			Cheni Ram Moran			7,112	0.80			0.80
	NOTA			None of the above			16,809	1.09			N/A
Majority							1,85,347	20.81			+16.13
Turnout							8,91,129	79.26			+12.01
Registered electors							11,24,305
2009 Lok Sabha election: Dibrugarh
Party					Candidate				Votes					%		±%
		INC			Paban Singh Ghatowar				3,59,163					47.87
		AGP			Sarbananda Sonowal				3,24,020					43.19
		Independent			Sima Ghosh				20,816					2.77
		CPI			Ratul Gogoi				11,937					1.59
		CPI(ML)L			Gangaram Kaul				8,224					1.10
		NCP			Romen Borthakur				7,106					0.95
		Independent			Lakhi Charan Swansi				6,055					0.81
		Independent			Francis Dhan				5,840					0.78
		Independent			Imtiaz Hussain				3,889					0.52
		JMM			Niharika Gogoi				3,224					0.43
Majority									35,143					4.68
Turnout									7,50,274					67.29
Registered electors									11,14,965
2004 Lok Sabha election: Dibrugarh
Party						Candidate				Votes			%		±%
			AGP			Sarbananda Sonowal				2,20,944			35.0
			BJP			Kamakhya Prasad Tasa				2,02,390			32.1
			INC			Paban Singh Ghatowar				1,70,589			27.0
			Independent			Badhram Rajgarh				15,894			2.5
			CPI(ML)L			Subhas Sen				9,843			1.6
			Independent			Amrit Borgohain				6,251			1.0
			Samata Party			Titus Bhengra				5,329			0.8
Majority										18,554			2.9
Turnout										6,31,416			65.1
Registered electors										9,69,905

1999 result

1999 Lok Sabha election: Dibrugarh
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	INC	Paban Singh Ghatowar	2,70,863	48.6
	BJP	Ajit Chaliha	2,03,747	35.2
	AGP	Biju Phukan	75,932	13.6
Majority			67,116	12.1
Turnout			5,78,810	61.2
Registered electors			9,45,785