Assam polls 2021: Will the BJP retain Sadiya and Margherita?

DIBRUGARH:

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a stronghold in the Sadiya and Margherita Legislative Assembly Constituencies of Tinsukia but it remains to be seen whether the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and other issues become a hindrance for the saffron party in retaining both the seats.

A triangular fight is expected in Sadiya with Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) candidate Jagadish Bhuyan and Congress candidate Lakhin Chandra Chetia in the fray as well.

Bhuyan, a former Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) minister, lost to Bolin Chetia by a margin of 2,794 and 6,867 votes in the 2006 and 2011 general elections.

Bhuyan is the general secretary of the newly formed regional outfit AJP and is likely to bring the fight to Chetia.

On the other hand, Chetia is also very popular among the people in Sadiya.

“Both the constituencies are important for the BJP to retain the seats. Bolin Chetia and Bhaskar Sharma are strong BJP candidates, but this time it will not be easy for them to make a clean sweep from the respected constituencies. There is an undercurrent of anti-CAA and how it will affect the fate of the BJP candidates is not known,” said political analyst Rupak Bhattacharjee.

Out of 1,63,088 registered voters in Margherita, 84,238 are men, and 78,850 are women.

We may note that the voter turnout in the 2016 Assembly election was 83.87 per cent.

(Edited by Christopher Gatphoh)