Guwahati, March 15 Assam's 126 assembly constituencies, spread across four distinct regions – the Brahmaputra Valley, the Barak Valley, hill districts, and the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), feature several prominent seats that will be key battlegrounds in the upcoming polls, scheduled to be held in one phase on April 9.
The polls will see crucial participation from various communities across the state, including the Assamese people, minorities comprising Bengali-speaking and Assamese Muslims, the tea tribe community, and indigenous tribal communities.
Some of the prominent constituencies in the state are:
JALUKBARI: This assembly constituency, which encompasses both urban and rural voters under the Gauhati Lok Sabha seat, has been represented by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for five terms. He won by a record margin of over one lakh votes in 2021, and is likely to contest again to retain the seat for the sixth consecutive time.
JORHAT: Located in the Upper Assam region of the Brahmaputra Valley, Jorhat primarily comprises urban voters and is expected to witness a key contest between candidates from the Congress and the BJP. Gaurav Gogoi, the state president of the Congress, will contest from this constituency, which has been represented by veteran politician Hitendra Nath Goswami for five terms, thrice consecutively since 1991 as an AGP candidate, and again twice as a BJP nominee from 2016.
NAZIRA: This constituency is dominated by tea gardens and the oil sector. It has been a stronghold of the late chief minister Hiteswar Saikia, with both him and his wife Hemoprava Saikia, a minister in the Tarun Gogoi government, representing it. Currently, their son and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, will try to retain the seat for the fourth consecutive term in the upcoming polls.
GOLAGHAT: Golaghat, with its numerous tea gardens, is currently represented by Ajanta Neog, the state's first woman finance minister, who holds the record of being the longest-serving female legislator in the state, with five consecutive terms since 2001. She represented Golaghat as a Congress member until 2020, when she switched to the BJP, winning it again in 2021.
DULIAJAN: This constituency, with its tea gardens, oil, and natural gas installations, was represented by Terash Gowala of the BJP for two consecutive terms from 2016. He was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha. The seat was previously held by Rameswar Teli of the BJP, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020 and subsequently became a Union minister. He is likely to contest the seat in the upcoming polls.
PANERY: This constituency, a stronghold of the Bodo tribe, has been represented by Biswajit Daimary, the outgoing Speaker of the Assembly. He has represented the seat as a candidate for both the Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) and the BJP.
KOKRAJHAR: Newly constituted following the 2023 delimitation exercise, Kokrajhar is expected to attract attention. The BPF has an advantage, but the other NDA ally, the United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL), may also field a candidate there.
BARPETA: Previously a minority-dominated constituency, its demographics have been realigned during the delimitation exercise. Abdur Rahim Ahmed of the Congress currently represents the seat, but the party has nominated Mahananda Sarkar as its candidate for the forthcoming polls.
SILCHAR: Located in the Barak Valley, Silchar is a prominent constituency that was once the stronghold of the late Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev. His wife, Bithika Dev, and daughter, Sushmita Dev (who is currently a TMC MP), also represented the constituency. The BJP also has a strong presence in the constituency, primarily comprising Bengali Hindus, and has retained the seat since 2016.
SAMAGURI: Rakibul Hussain, the Dhubri Lok Sabha MP and Congress representative, has represented this constituency for five consecutive terms. Diplu Ranjan Sarma, of the BJP, wrested it from his son, Tanzil Hussain, during the by-elections necessitated by the senior Hussain's election to Parliament. Congress has again given the ticket to Tanzil for the coming polls.
BARCHALLA: Located in the northern part of the Brahmaputra, Barchalla has been represented by Ganesh Kumar Limbu of the BJP for the last two terms, since 2016. Former Congress Rajya Sabha member, Assam minister, and party's state unit president Ripun Bora will be the opposition candidate from the seat in the upcoming polls.
DISPUR: This prestigious constituency, comprising parts of Guwahati city and its suburbs, has been represented by Atul Bora of the BJP for two terms since 2016. He also represented the seat from 1985 to 1996 as an AGP candidate and was a powerful minister in Prafulla Kumar Mahanta's first ministry. The Congress has nominated its Pradesh Mahila Congress President Mira Borthakur, who unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, as its candidate. She previously joined the BJP after the CAA protests in 2019.