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The Indian National Congress has stepped aside in Dibrugarh for the upcoming Assembly polls, leaving the seat to an ally, as the Bharatiya Janata Party seeks a fifth consecutive victory in a constituency that has shifted from a Congress bastion to a BJP stronghold over the past two decades.

Once regarded as a Congress fortress in the Northeast, second only to Rae Bareli, Dibrugarh has witnessed a marked political transformation. In the early 1980s, the BJP’s presence was marginal, with its candidate securing barely a few hundred votes, while Congress enjoyed overwhelming backing, particularly among tea garden communities.

The turning point came in 2006 when BJP leader Prashant Phukan defeated Congress heavyweight Kalyan Kumar Gogoi by 175 votes in a closely fought contest, marking the party’s breakthrough in the constituency.

Since then, the BJP has steadily consolidated its position. Phukan expanded his winning margin to over 19,000 votes in 2011, increased it to 27,374 in 2016, and secured a decisive victory by 38,005 votes in 2021 against Congress candidate Rajkumar Nilanetra Neog.

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In the current election, Congress has chosen not to field a candidate, backing the Assam Jatiya Parishad nominee Mainak Patra. The contest has taken a triangular shape, with Phukan facing Patra and Kamal Hazarika of the Vikas India Party, though it is largely seen as a BJP–AJP contest.

Phukan, in a recent interaction, criticised Congress, describing it as a "radar-less ship" that has lost direction. He pointed to the party’s decline from dominance in the constituency to its present absence from the contest as evidence of shifting voter sentiment.

"The decline is visible not just in Dibrugarh but across the country," he said.

He also termed Congress’s decision to cede the seat to an ally as indicative of shrinking political space, contrasting it with the BJP’s organisational strength and performance-driven approach.

 

With Congress out of the direct fray, Dibrugarh has emerged as a symbol of a broader political realignment in Assam and the Northeast, where the BJP has expanded its footprint over successive election cycles.