Guwahati: The battle for the 36 Guwahati Central constituency has taken a sharply personal turn after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma levelled grave allegations against the mother of Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) candidate Kunki Chowdhury.
During a campaign event on Thursday, Chief Minister Sarma launched a direct offensive against Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, mother of the 27-year-old AJP debutant. Sarma alleged that Chowdhury’s social media activity had “hurt the sentiments of Sanatani people” and suggested she harbored sympathies for Pakistan.
He further claimed that she had expressed support for”anti-national” activists Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid over their controversial remarks on the Siliguri Corridor, often referred to as the “Chicken’s Neck”.
Kunki Chowdhury terms allegations “baseless”
Chowdhury, who is contesting BJP veteran Vijay Kumar Gupta, dismissed the allegations as “completely baseless” and indicative of political unease within the ruling party.
In a video statement, she said the response to her campaign within a short span had unsettled her opponents. “It has been just 15 days since I entered politics, and the support I have received has clearly worried them,” she said.
She added that the Chief Minister’s repeated references to her had inadvertently amplified her public profile. “By taking my name, he has ensured that people across the country now know who Kunki Chowdhury is,” she remarked.
Sujata Gurung Chowdhury refutes claims
Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, responding to the allegations, issued a detailed rebuttal, stating that she has no involvement in politics and was compelled to speak out only because the remarks came from the Chief Minister.
Setting out her background, she clarified that she is an Indian Gorkha from Kalimpong in West Bengal, not from Sikkim as alleged. Questioning her inclusion in the political exchange, she said, “This is my daughter’s battle, not mine.”
She firmly denied allegations related to beef consumption, describing them as “factually incorrect” and calling for verification of any purported images. She also rejected claims of supporting individuals accused of anti-national statements, noting that her social media accounts are public and open to scrutiny.
Referring to her lineage, she said her grandfather, Ari Bahadur Gurung, was a member of the Constituent Assembly and among the signatories to the Constitution of India, while her uncle, Dambar Singh Gurung, was the founding president of the All India Gorkha League.
“I am an Indian Gorkha who came to Assam after marriage. I am now an Assamese daughter-in-law,” she said, urging that facts be verified before such assertions are made.
AJP slams “diversion from real issues”
AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi criticised the Chief Minister’s remarks, accusing him of resorting to “Hindu-Muslim rhetoric” to divert attention from governance issues.
He said Chowdhury’s campaign has focused on key civic concerns such as artificial flooding in Guwahati, traffic congestion and land rights for indigenous communities. “When there are no answers to these questions, such narratives are brought to the fore,” he said, adding that dragging family members into political discourse was unwarranted.
As campaigning intensifies, the episode has added a contentious dimension to the electoral narrative, raising questions over the limits of political attack and the role of personal and familial references in public discourse.