On April 20, with not even a week left for voting in Assam's Nowgong, sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi landed in hospital.
The Congress won the upper Assam seat in 2019, despite the Modi wave, with Pradyut Bordoloi beating BJP's Sarmah.
It should have been a smoother ride for the Congress in Nowgong as the seat became a Muslim-majority seat after last year's delimitation exercise.
There are videos shared by Assam Congress where Pradyut Bordoloi is seen using a helicopter to cover the maximum ground.
Congress candidate Pradyut Bordoloi has also alleged that the BJP is polarising the voters in Nowgong on religious lines.
On April 20, with not even a week left for voting in Assam's Nowgong, sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi landed in hospital. For weeks, he had just slept for a couple of hours.
"Battling undemocratic and communal forces is an uphill struggle. For weeks, I've had only two hours of sleep, taking a toll on my health," Bordoloi posted on X with a photo of him sitting on a hospital bed.
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He thanked the hospital staff and said he was "ready to resume campaigning stronger than before."
Nowgong votes in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 26. Pradyut Bordoloi's post on X.
Nowgong has been a BJP bastion with its candidate Rajen Gohain winning the seat in four consecutive terms from 1999 to 2014. The BJP lost the seat when it replaced Gohain with Rupak Sarmah in 2019.
The Congress won the upper Assam seat in 2019, despite the Modi wave, with Pradyut Bordoloi beating BJP's Sarmah. Bordoloi got 49.53% of the votes, but the victory margin was slim -- 16,752.
Things seem to have become much more difficult five years on.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has redoubled his efforts after taking it upon himself to deliver 13 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats to the BJP. Since it came to power in the state in 2016, the BJP has also worked to strengthen its organisational machinery.
The BJP bettered its tally in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by winning nine of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam. The Congress won three seats and the AIUDF one.
It should have been a smoother ride for the Congress in Nowgong as the seat became a Muslim-majority seat after last year's delimitation exercise. Muslims constitute 51% of Nowgong's electorate.
However, the entry of the AIUDF made matters difficult.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) of Badruddin Ajmal enjoys the support of Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam and has fielded a heavyweight from Nowgong.
The AIUDF didn't field a candidate for the seat in the 2019 general elections and there was a consolidation of minority votes for the Congress. Nowgong is one of the three Lok Sabha seats that the AIUDF is contesting. Dhubri and Karimganj are the other two.
This time, Aminul Islam, the Mankachar MLA since 2021 and AIUDF's General Secretary (Organisation), is contesting from Nowgong.
"The main fight in Nowgong seat will be between the AIUDF and the BJP. Congress is not in the position and the security deposit will be seized. There is no existence of the Congress here," said Aminul Islam.
The BJP has fielded Suresh Bora, a former member of the banned militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), who crossed over from the Congress in November 2023. He was the district president of Nagaon Congress.
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However, AIUDF's Aminul Islam claimed he would win the seat by a margin of 3 lakh votes.
Even the BJP considers the AIUDF as its primary rival in the Nowgong seat.
"Our contest is with the AIUDF in Nowgong and Karimganj seats. The Congress is not even in the picture," said Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday.
"We are improving day by day" in both the seats, he added.
Pradyut Bordoloi, a minister in the earlier Congress government in the state and one of the remaining heavyweights, isn't the one to throw in the towel.
There are videos shared by Assam Congress where Pradyut Bordoloi is seen using a helicopter to cover the maximum ground. Then there are clips and images posted by him of well-attended rallies.
Congress candidate Pradyut Bordoloi has also alleged that the BJP is polarising the voters in Nowgong on religious lines.
"The BJP has propagated and circulated the opium of religious polarisation. When you make people irrational and disoriented, the issues that touch their day-to-day life are ignored. This is the main issue," Bordoloi told PTI in an interview.
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Bordoloi seems to be trying his best, but the AIUDF is likely to spoil the Congress's party by splitting Muslim votes and providing an opportunity for the BJP to win a Muslim-majority seat in Assam.
