Dispur 2026: Ex-Congress leader on BJP ticket faces rebel loyalist

The 2026 Dispur Assembly election features a 'rebel vs turncoat' clash. Ex-Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi is the BJP's candidate, challenged by expelled BJP veteran Jayant Kumar Das as an independent, creating a three-cornered fight with Congress.

Rebel vs Turncoat: A Dramatic Showdown

The battle for Dispur, the seat of power in Assam, has taken a dramatic turn for the 2026 Assembly elections. In a high-stakes irony, the constituency is set to witness a fight between a former Congress heavyweight now wearing saffron and a veteran BJP loyalist fighting as a rebel independent.

Former Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi is now set to contest the seat as a BJP candidate, facing a direct challenge from ex-BJP veteran Jayant Kumar Das. Despite being a "newcomer" to the party, he has been given the ticket to leverage his administrative experience and appeal to a broader base. Das, who was recently expelled from the BJP for six years, is now campaigning as an independent candidate, setting the stage for an intense "rebel versus turncoat" showdown. After being denied a ticket to accommodate Bordoloi, he resigned from the party. He claims the BJP has become a "version of the Congress" and is running on a platform of "original ideology."

A High-Stakes, Three-Cornered Contest

Former BJP leader Jayant Kumar Das previously launched a vitriolic attack on the party leadership for fielding former Congress leader and former Nagaon MP, Pradyut Bordoloi, from the Dispur seat in Guwahati. Das alleged that he had been under tremendous pressure from a "nexus" of former Congress leaders who have since joined the BJP. He further stated that he felt a sense of relief after he left the party. However, despite his resignation, Das maintained that he continues to align with the BJP's core ideology. He framed his current candidacy not as an act of defiance against the party itself, but as a continued fight against Congress.

Meanwhile, Mira Borthakur Goswami is contesting on a Congress ticket, turning the battle for Guwahati's Dispur seat into a high-stakes, three-cornered contest.

The high-profile constituency of Dispur, the capital of Assam and a key locality within the Guwahati metropolitan area, has emerged as a stronghold for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Dispur is a semi-urban, high-profile seat with a diverse electorate including government employees, urban professionals, and a significant indigenous population in its peripheral areas. Once a Congress stronghold under leaders like Akon Bora, the seat shifted decisively to the BJP in 2016. In 2021, the BJP's Atul Bora won with a massive margin of over 1.3 lakh votes.

Pradyut Bordoloi: From Congress Stalwart to BJP Candidate

In a move that surprised many, the BJP dropped its sitting MLA, Atul Bora, to field Pradyut Bordoloi, a former Congress MP who recently defected to the BJP citing "humiliation" within his old party. The constituency has a total population of 327,750, comprising 157,734 males and 170,016 females.

Former Congress veteran Pradyut Bordoloi served as a Cabinet Minister in the Assam State Government from 2001 to 2015, overseeing key portfolios such as Industry & Commerce, Public Enterprises, and Power. Between 2001 and 2016, he consistently contested the Margherita assembly seat. In the 2011 elections, he secured a decisive victory with 57,615 votes, defeating the BJP's Kamakhya Tasa. However, in 2016, he lost the seat to BJP candidate Bhaskar Sharma, who secured 76,365 votes to Bordoloi's 53,621. Later, he contested the Nagaon seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and secured a victory with 788,850 votes, defeating the BJP candidate, Suresh Borah.

However, Bordoloi resigned from the Congress party and joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Assam BJP President Dilip Saikia on March 18, 2026. Pradyut Bordoloi has accused the party leadership of sidelining him, which led to the end of his lifelong association with the Congress party amid allegations of internal mistreatment. He clarified that the resignation stemmed from "multiple issues" as opposed to a singular ticket allocation for the Assam Assembly elections.

"For me, getting a ticket was not a question of life and death. There were multiple issues. What was important for me was to hold my head high. The Congress party has given me a lot," he told the media. "I want to make it very clear that I am in my second term in Lok Sabha, and there are another three years to go. I could have accepted the humiliation if I wanted to remain as an MP. But I decided to leave and work," he added.

Insider vs Outsider: A Litmus Test for BJP

The Dispur race has become a litmus test for "insider vs. outsider" politics within the ruling party. Jayanta Kumar Das carries significant support among the BJP's core ground workers (Karyakartas) who are disgruntled by the "para-dropping" of a former Congress rival. His goal is to split the traditional BJP vote.

Pradyut Bordoloi is campaigning on the "Double Engine" growth model, backed heavily by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He aims to prove that his individual political weight, combined with the BJP's machinery, can override local dissent.

Interestingly, the tension hasn't stopped the "rebel" and the "turncoat" from being seen sharing a hug on the campaign trail, signalling that while the political fight is fierce, the personal ties in Assam's tight-knit political circles remain intact. As the voting date nears, the question for Dispur is simple: Will the capital favour the party's choice or the party's rebel? (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)