Assam Election: Gaurav Gogoi Suffers Major Defeat in Jorhat as BJP Sweeps State

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to form the government for the third time in Assam. Under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP alliance is seen winning 97 seats this time. On the other hand, the Congress appears to be limited to only 24 seats. A significant highlight of this election is that Assam Congress President and MP Gaurav Gogoi has lost the Jorhat assembly seat. Congress was contesting the election with Gaurav Gogoi as its primary face. Out of the 24 seats Congress is winning, 19 candidates are Muslims.

Gaurav Gogoi's Defeat and Congress' Performance

Congress had projected Gaurav Gogoi to overthrow the 10-year-old BJP government in Assam. This time, Congress didn't form an alliance with Badruddin Ajmal's party, AIUDF. Despite this, the performance of the Congress has been its worst compared to the 2021 assembly elections. Last time, Congress won 29 seats, but this time the figure is seen dropping to 24. Several veteran leaders of the Assam Congress have also lost their elections.

The Battle for Jorhat Seat

The state of Congress in Assam can be gauged from the fact that State President Gaurav Gogoi couldn't save his own seat, while he contested from the Jorhat assembly seat, where BJP's Hitendra Nath Goswami defeated him by more than 23,000 votes. The BJP candidate received over 69,000 votes, while Gaurav Gogoi was restricted to around 46,000 votes. All seats in the Jorhat district appear to be going to the BJP's account.

Shift in Jorhat Lok Sabha Segments

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Gaurav Gogoi won the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat. This Lok Sabha seat comprises 10 assembly segments, including Sonari, Mahmora, Demow, Sibsagar, Nazira, Majuli, Teok, Jorhat, Mariani, and Titabar. During the Lok Sabha elections, Congress was leading in all seats except Majuli, but in the assembly elections, the BJP alliance is seen winning 9 out of 10 seats. Akhil Gogoi is leading from only one seat, Sibsagar.

Who is Hitendra Nath Goswami?

Hitendra Nath Goswami of the BJP, who defeated Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, has won this seat for the third consecutive time, while he also served as the Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly from 2017 to 2021. Before joining the BJP, he was part of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and was a three-time MLA from the Jorhat seat on an AGP ticket from 1991 to 2001. He joined the BJP in 2014. With the 2026 victory, Hitendra Nath Goswami has now become a 6-time MLA.