Sibsagar
Jailed anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi became the first Assamese to win an election without hitting the campaign trail, as he clinched the Sibsagar constituency, defeating his nearest rival Surabhi Rajkonwari of the BJP by a decisive 11,875 votes.
The founder of the newly-floated Raijor Dal — arrested in December 2019 over sedition charges — bagged 57,219 votes as an Independent, garnering support from 46.06% of the electorate.
The Congress, which had initially backed the Raijor Dal chief, ended up giving ticket to Subhramitra Gogoi, who came third in the contest. The RTI activist, in an attempt to reach out to the people of the state, wrote several open letters from jail, highlighting problems that need to be addressed.
Central observers to pick next CM
New Delhi
The BJP is likely to finalise its choice of chief ministerial nominee for Assam in a day or two as internal consultation within the party has begun amid a suspense over if it will continue with incumbent chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal or bring in a new face.
Sonowal and his powerful ministerial colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma are being seen as the two most obvious contenders for the top job. Sources said internal confabulation is on in the party, and the its parliamentary board may soon name central observers to preside over the meeting of its newly-elected party MLAs in Guwahati where they will pick their leader.
