Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi on Sunday admitted that not fielding a candidate by the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in Nowgong Lok Sabha constituency this time had helped him win the seat which was a BJP citadel for two decades.
Bordoloi, who had represented Margherita Assembly seat in Upper Assam for four consecutive terms before losing it in 2016, won the Nowgong Lok Sabha seat in central Assam defeating his nearest rival Rupak Sharma of the BJP by 16,752 votes.
“The AIUDF came to its senses this time. In the 2016 Assembly elections, it had worked for the BJP. It is right that by not fielding any candidate the AIUDF has helped me,” Bordoloi told the media on Sunday afternoon.
In the morning, Bordoloi, along with Kaliabor MP Gaurav Gogoi and Barpeta MP Abdul Khaleque, two other newly-elected Congress parliamentarians, were felicitated by the party at its head office here. The three MPs vowed to be a powerful voice of Assam and the Northeast in Parliament.
Bordoloi’s admission came days after AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam claimed that the Congress would not have won in Nowgong and Kaliabor seats if they contested there.
In 2014, the AIUDF was in third position in Nowgong with 3.14 lakh votes. On the other hand, the Congress this time won back the Barpeta seat from the AIUDF.
Bordoloi said it was difficult to win the Nowgong seat as he was not a local resident. Moreover, he said a massive team of RSS was working like a “submarine” for the BJP.
According to him, the Congress did not get enough time to take the message of Nyay — the party’s promised scheme guaranteeing Rs 72,000 a year to the poorest families — to the people.
The felicitation programme was attended by former chief minister Bhumidhar Barman, party president Ripun Bora, leader of the Opposition in Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia, senior party leader Rakibul Hussain among others.
Gaurav Gogoi said he would raise the problems of Assam in Parliament. Khaleque said he would try to convince the Centre to announce Barpeta a heritage city.
