First-Time Women Candidates Take On Assam’s Political Heavyweights

With hours left before Assam goes to the polls on the morning of 9 April, discussions around possible electoral outcomes have engulfed the state.In the midst of this, the near-negligible presence of women in Assam’s politics has come up again under scrutiny, with only 59 or 8 percent out of the 722 candidates contesting in 126 seats this time being women. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded eight women candidates—six from the BJP, and one each from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). The Indian National Congress (INC)-led opposition alliance fares marginally better, fielding 11 women candidates—nine from the Congress, and one each from Raijor Dal and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).“In a male dominated discourse, women are not adequately represented. For example, there are 10 lakh women working in the tea garden sector but they lack basic workplace amenities like toilets. These issues don't get highlighted, which can change if more women become legislators.”Ratna Bharali Talukdar, Senior JournalistWhile the overall lack of representation of women in electoral politics of Assam is discouraging, this election has thrown up the names of some promising first-time women candidates. The Quint tracks down three such candidates, fielded by the opposition alliance against BJP heavyweights. They have some common factors such as being young, dynamic, having strong educational backgrounds, and most importantly, they have already grabbed eyeballs of the people of Assam.Can a People’s Candidate Win? Pranab Doley’s Fight in Assam's Bokakhat'Kunki' in Assamese refers to trained elephants used to tame wild and rogue elephants—a metaphor that seems fitting for 27-year-old Kunki Choudhury, the Opposition’s bet from the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) to challenge the BJP in Guwahati Central, long considered a safe seat for the ruling party.Guwahati Central is one of the most cosmopolitan constituencies in the state, with 1,91,758 voters. A large number of voters here are from Marwari, Bihari, and Bengali Hindu communities, who are known to be the core vote base of BJP.Choudhury, barely a month into formal politics, is gearing up for a high-stakes contest against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) strongman Vijay Kumar Gupta, a 70-year-old businessman and long-time state BJP general secretary. Gupta, a businessman who hails from the Bihari community has triggered the Assamese vs Non-Assamese debate, while Kunki has found herself facing the ire of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He attacked her mother, Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, accusing her of consuming beef and posting those images on Instagram, thus 'hurting' the religious feelings of Hindus. He even threatened to file a case against her under the Cattle Prevention Act after the election. However, this move seems to have backfired for the BJP, as it has brought more support and sympathy for Choudhury.Vinayak Sharma, who runs a hotel in the Fancy Bazar area of the city, told The Quint, “We hadn't even heard about Kunki a few days back. But CM's outburst against her made me look her up. Now, I find her campaign quite interesting.”The United Bengali Forum, which claims to represent Bengali Hindus of Guwahati, has thrown its weight behind Kunki, deeming her as a more suitable candidate. She is also being backed by the sizeable Gorkha population of the constituency.“Her mother Sujata Gurung is the granddaughter of Barrister Ari Bahadur Gurung, first Member of Parliament (MP) from Darjeeling and one of the signatories to the Indian Constitution. His elder brother Abu Dabar Singh Gurung had launched our party. CM shouldn't have dragged Sujata Gurung into this unwanted controversy. Guwahati Central has 10,000 Gorkha voters. We appeal to them to vote for Kunki Chowdhury.“D B Karki, President of the Assam Chapter of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha LeagueMeanwhile, Kunki, who has done her Masters in Educational Leadership from the Institute of Education and Society, University College of London (UCL), has already connected strongly with the women and Gen Z voters of the constituency.Ankita Das, a young woman who votes in Guwahati Central, said, “Someone like Kunki should get a chance to represent our constituency because she will bring fresh energy and ideas. Also, being a woman herself, she can understand gender issues better.”While her political opponent Gupta has made outlandish claims like turning Guwahati into Switzerland, she has kept her promises basic and simple."There are 16 wards in this constituency with their own set of issues like artificial floods, drainage issues, inadequate waste disposal system, irregular supply of water, parking problem in several congested areas. If I get elected, I will work on these issues on priority basis- flooding prevention with pre-monsoon drainage, daily waste collection and scientific disposal, skill hub for youth with training, jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities at one place, smart parking to ease traffic chaos, faster PNG rollout across the constituency.”Kunki ChowdhuryGreeting every passerby on the road with a smile as she campaigned in the Manipuri Basti area, she says that her decision to join politics was not taken in haste. Zia Ur Rahman, spokesperson of AJP, told The Quint, “Globally, Gen Z is playing a pivotal role in politics, be it in Nepal, Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh. So we thought giving ticket to a Gen Z candidate like Kunki will connect with the young voters. But what we are seeing on ground is she has connected en masse with every age group across communities.”Assam's Barak Valley to See Bipolar Fight as BJP-Cong Muscle Out Other PartiesWhen she decided to quit her job as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Goalpara College earlier this year, Dr Gyanashree Bora hadn’t thought about contesting elections. She wanted to work on the ground for Raijor Dol, a political party started by peasant leader Akhil Gogoi in 2021, in the Assembly polls this year.“I had joined Raijor Dol in 2021 and became the party spokesperson. I was also given the charge of forming Nari Bahini, the women's unit of Raijor Dol. I quit politics in 2023 when I got the job of lecturer at Goalpara College. This year, I decided to resign from my job and work for the party in this election. Then the party decided that it will field me from Mariani," she told The Quint.Mariani is primarily a tea garden constituency in Jorhat district, situated around 20 kms from Jorhat town. It has around 40 tea gardens with more than 40 percent of the electorate being from the tea tribe community. BJP's Rupjyoti Kurmi, who belongs to this community, has been the legislator of Mariani since 2006. Before that, his mother Rupam Kurmi has also won from this seat thrice.However, despite this prolonged rule of the Kurmi family here, the constituency lacks several basic amenities.Dibya Jyoti Saikia, a journalist who lives in Mariani town, told The Quint, “Drainage and roads are the main issues of this constituency. Even today, there is no bus service in the constituency. The health scenario here is abysmal. There is a Health Centre in Mariani town, which caters to a population of more than 50,000. No doctor is available there after 1 pm. Then a large area of Mariani like Naginijan and Gabhoru, which shares a border with Nagaland. Those areas witness constant tension with encroachment from the Naga side, firing incidents and crop burning.”Identifying the several chronic issues of this constituency, Bora said, “Most people here haven't got proper drinking water facilities. This constituency has some of the worst roads of Assam. In fact, there are painful instances of pregnant women having to walk because the ambulance can't reach them due to a bad road. Then there are the issues of border dispute with Nagaland and human-elephant conflict here.”Gyanashree BoraWhile her academic background and humble nature has made her popular among young voters of Mariani, she is being opposed by a section because of being an outsider in the constituency. On the other hand, Rupjyoti Kurmi, known by his nickname Dhunu in the constituency, is almost like a family member to most voters.Bora said, “I am not debating that. He is indeed popular here. He himself has claimed that he attended 10,000 tuloni biya or half-saree ceremonies in the constituency, which means almost 27 years of his life. But beyond that he hasn't done much to improve the condition of the constituency.”Regarding the chances of Bora, Pradip Sarkar, President of the district unit of Raijor Dol in Jorhat told The Quint,“This outsider narrative is being played up by the BJP. There is a strong anti-Incumbency wave against Kurmi and for the first time, people have found a solid alternative in Bora. Mariani has 65,000 Ahom voters, 26,000 Muslim voters, 15,000 Christian voters who will mostly vote for Raijor Dol. However, there are 42,000 voters from the tea tribe community and 15,000 Bengalis whose votes will become the deciding factor. Ultimately, it will be a very close contest. If the tea tribe and Bengalis vote for Bora, then she might go all the way.”Pradip SarkarBidisha Neog faces perhaps the toughest contest of all. Contesting from Jalukbari, she is up against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has held the seat since 2001. Jalukbari is like a veritable fortress for Sarma. He proudly claims, “I don't need to campaign in Jalukbari. People here will themselves campaign for me.” Regarding the Chief Minister's connection with 2,06,314 voters of his constituency, Dr Subrata Dhar, a homeopathic doctor in the Pandu area of the constituency told The Quint, “He knows half the people of Jalukbari by name. Earlier, if there was a fire in the constituency, he would come wearing a half pant and start dousing the fire.”Neog knows she has her task cut out. Like Bora, she too left her secure job in the Administrative Department of Gauhati University to join politics. Speaking to The Quint, the 34-year-old said, “When I decided to quit my job after working for eight years, my family was not happy. But ultimately they are old Congress loyalists and were relieved that I joined INC.”She has focused her campaign on issues such as drainage, drinking water, poor road connectivity, and environmental degradation.“There are four divisions here—Jalukbari, Rani, Maligaon, and North Guwahati. I want to set up two skill hubs for each of these divisions. Then, I want to start free of cost bus service for students. I will also open public toilets for both second and third gender.” She also promises a clean and green Jalukbari, if elected.Even though she has identified the right weapons to penetrate the CM's fortress, she claims her work has been made difficult by the BJP workers of the area. Gopi Rabha, a Congress old timer of Jalukbari, working closely with Neog in this campaign, told The Quint, “She has not been able to organise large gatherings because of BJP's vandalism. She was stopped from entering many localities. Her rally was attacked in Pandu. So, she mainly has to do door-to-door campaigning with a small team of 15-20 people.” The only time her rallies saw decent turnout was in the presence of Congress star campaigners like Alka Lamba and Kanhaiya Kumar.Nobody is really expecting Neog to win against Sarma, not even her own party. However, she has grabbed eyeballs due to her relentless campaigning in the face of adversity. “I have liked challenges since childhood,” says Neog.All three candidates acknowledge Indian politics is not an easy place to traverse for a woman. The Quint reached out to Rupali Langthasa from the BJP—their only first-time woman candidate in Assam this election—but was unable to get a response till the time of publication.“Whenever a woman joins politics, instead of encouraging her, some people stoop down to the lowest level of politics and resort to character assassination. I think change can come through more representation of women.”“Whenever a woman joins politics, instead of encouraging her, some people stoop down to the lowest level of politics and resort to character assassination. I think change can come through more representation of women.”Kunki ChoudhuryNeog recounts physical intimidation during campaigning, while Bora speaks of online trolling, sometimes amounting to sexual harassment.“Sometimes these comments go to the extent of sexual harassment. I used to feel bad initially but now I have conditioned myself to ignore it," Bora says.Time will tell if these young, educated, first-time candidates find a seat in the next Legislative Assembly of Assam. But their growing visibility—both on the ground and online—has already unsettled entrenched political players. (Nabarun Guha is an independent journalist based in Assam covering politics, environment, and human rights issues.)

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