Assam: Gaurav Gogoi Loses His First Election in Jorhat to BJP's Hitendra Goswami
Congress' Gaurav Gogoi has lost the Johrat seat by a margin of over 23,000 votes.
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As voting of 14 rounds concluded in the Jorhat assembly constituency, the result became clear: Congress' Assam Pradesh Committee President Gaurav Gogoi lost his first Assembly election, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).
While Goswami won with 69,439 votes, Gaurav received 46,257 votes.
Hitendra Nath Goswami has won by a huge margin against Gaurav Gogoi.
'Not Satisfied With The Trends': Gaurav Gogoi
Reacting to the pattern coming forth from Assam, Gaurav told PTI, "We are not satisfied with the trends in Assam; they are not in line with our expectations. Counting is still underway, and I urge all our party representatives, candidates, and workers to remain alert until the final vote is counted. Everyone must stay present at the counting centres, as in many constituencies the margins, whether leading or trailing, are very narrow. Once the complete results are declared, we will assess the situation and hold discussions within the party, with the people of Assam, and with our central leadership on how to prepare and move forward.”
Earlier in the day, Gaurav was seen paying tribute to his father as voting of votes was underway.
While this was his entry in Assembly election, Garuav had previously won the Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency (2014 and 2019) and Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency (2024).
After the exit polls, Gaurav had said, “The silent vote and the conscience vote are in favour of the Opposition,” confident that his party would defy the exit polls.
In this election season, the Congress leader was also at the forefront of several controversies. While BJP, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched verbal attacks on him, calling him a 'Pakistani agent' who allegedly received "training" on his visit to Pakistan, him and his party members called him 'Paijaan' as well.
BJP's Assam official handle on X had also posted a controversial 'point-blank' AI-generated video which showed CM Sarma shooting at a skull-cap wearing Gaurav and another Muslim.
Such was the polarising campaign against the Congress leader.
In addition to this, CM Sarma's wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma had also come out strongly against him when the allegations about holding foreign passports and assets had come forth against her.
After Gaurav questioned her, Sharma responded with, “Can you disclose whether your wife has or has ever had a bank account in Pakistan? And will you make those details public?”
CM Sarma had also filed a 500 crores defamation case against Gaurav and other Congress leaders ahead of the elections as well.
The Deputy leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav also comes from a political family lineage, his father the late former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, started his political career in 1968 as a municipal councillor in Jorhat. He represented the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat thrice from 1971 to 1984.
Meanwhile, Goswami has represented the Jorhat assembly seat five times since 1991, thrice as an Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and twice as a BJP lawmaker. AGP is part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in Assam.
Gaurav completed his schooling at St Columba's School in Delhi and earned a B Tech degree from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in 2004. After a small stint in marketing with Airtel, he went to the US for a master's in Public Administration.
In 2024, Gaurav contested from Jorhat, defeating BJP candidate Topon Kumar Gogoi. He got a warm welcome from the supporters who affectionately called him "Amar Lora" (our son).
The results for the Jorhat seat were confirmed by the ECI in the afternoon.