New Delhi: Incumbent Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who completed 75 years last Friday, has earned the distinction of being the second longest-serving chief minister of Assam since India attained independence in 1947.
His dream, however, of beating the standing record of BP Chaliha, who ruled the state for 13 consecutive years from December 1957 to November 1970 may remain unfulfilled.
Gogoi will complete 10 years in the chair on May 1.
Gogoi, who was elected to the Lok Sabha six times and to the state legislative assembly thrice, faces the ignominy of leading the Congress party to a loss of power, although he continues to be supremely confident of the Congress party's prospects.
"There is no opposition in the state. AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) are in bad shape. We defeated them in Lok Sabha elections (2009) and will do it again," Gogoi said.
Pre-poll surveys and the ground realities, however, indicate his days in the office could be numbered.
Misrule
"Gogoi's was 10 years of misrule in the state. All his claims about development are a bundle of lies.
He may have been heading the government, but it was run by the mafia," said BJP national secretary, Vani Tripathi.
She is confident of a better show by the BJP in the ensuing elections, claiming BJP will be a major player in the formation of the next government.
The claim does not appear far from the truth considering all poll predictions and indications point towards a hung assembly.
Former ally AGP could be BJP's first choice for a post-poll alliance.
However, the two parties together may still fall short of the magic figure of the simple majority which is 64 in the House of 126.
They may thus have to either depend upon the All India United Democratic Front which is slated to increase its tally from 10, five years ago, to at least 15 or the independents, who traditionally are rebels from various parties.
The number of independents stood at 19 in 2001 and went up to 22 in 2006.
Even at their worst, they may win more than 10 seats this time too. "It is difficult to say who will form the government and how, but a non-Congress government is very much in the offing," said Tripathi.
New faces
The BJP on its own is banking heavily on new faces it has introduced as its candidates which includes some Muslim candidates.
Prominent amongst them are Dr Rajdeep Roy, a popular doctor and Pradyut Bora.
While Roy is contesting Silchar seat, Bora, an Indian Institute of Management — Ahmadabad alumni known for spearheading Lal Krishna Advani's online campaign in last Lok Sabha election, is contesting Jalukbari seat.
Jalukbari is considered a prestigious seat because of Guwahati university being located here from where Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and his AGP colleagues formed the government in 1985.
This seat was a stronghold of AGP since 1985 and it was won by Himanta Biswa Sarma of the Congress party in 2001. He defeated former minister Bhrigu Kumar Phuong who was representing the constituency since 1985.
Gogoi himself is seeking re-election from his traditional seat Titabar of Jorhat district.
His dream, however, of beating the standing record of BP Chaliha, who ruled the state for 13 consecutive years from December 1957 to November 1970 may remain unfulfilled.
Gogoi will complete 10 years in the chair on May 1.
Gogoi, who was elected to the Lok Sabha six times and to the state legislative assembly thrice, faces the ignominy of leading the Congress party to a loss of power, although he continues to be supremely confident of the Congress party's prospects.
"There is no opposition in the state. AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) are in bad shape. We defeated them in Lok Sabha elections (2009) and will do it again," Gogoi said.
Pre-poll surveys and the ground realities, however, indicate his days in the office could be numbered.
Misrule
"Gogoi's was 10 years of misrule in the state. All his claims about development are a bundle of lies.
He may have been heading the government, but it was run by the mafia," said BJP national secretary, Vani Tripathi.
She is confident of a better show by the BJP in the ensuing elections, claiming BJP will be a major player in the formation of the next government.
The claim does not appear far from the truth considering all poll predictions and indications point towards a hung assembly.
Former ally AGP could be BJP's first choice for a post-poll alliance.
However, the two parties together may still fall short of the magic figure of the simple majority which is 64 in the House of 126.
They may thus have to either depend upon the All India United Democratic Front which is slated to increase its tally from 10, five years ago, to at least 15 or the independents, who traditionally are rebels from various parties.
The number of independents stood at 19 in 2001 and went up to 22 in 2006.
Even at their worst, they may win more than 10 seats this time too. "It is difficult to say who will form the government and how, but a non-Congress government is very much in the offing," said Tripathi.
New faces
The BJP on its own is banking heavily on new faces it has introduced as its candidates which includes some Muslim candidates.
Prominent amongst them are Dr Rajdeep Roy, a popular doctor and Pradyut Bora.
While Roy is contesting Silchar seat, Bora, an Indian Institute of Management — Ahmadabad alumni known for spearheading Lal Krishna Advani's online campaign in last Lok Sabha election, is contesting Jalukbari seat.
Jalukbari is considered a prestigious seat because of Guwahati university being located here from where Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and his AGP colleagues formed the government in 1985.
This seat was a stronghold of AGP since 1985 and it was won by Himanta Biswa Sarma of the Congress party in 2001. He defeated former minister Bhrigu Kumar Phuong who was representing the constituency since 1985.
Gogoi himself is seeking re-election from his traditional seat Titabar of Jorhat district.
