The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ramped up the party's election campaign in Guwahati with 5,000 senior members backing the Sankalp Yatra (rally) on Wednesday, February 10. The rally was held from Latasil Field to Nehru Stadium, led by the BJP Guwahati District Committee with leaders Mrigen Sarania, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Mukut Deka, Nabarun Medhi, and Deben Dhrubojyoti Morlok among others gracing the event.
Guwahati has four constituencies: Dispur, Gauhati East, Gauhati West and Jalukbari.
Gauhati East (Vidhan Sabha constituency) is one of the 126 assembly constituencies of Assam, a north east state of India. Gauhati East is also part of Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency.
Elected legislators from the Gauhati East Constituency
1967: M.M. Choudhury, Indian National Congress
1973: Atul Chandra Saikia, Indian National Congress
1978: Ajoy Kumar Dutta, Janata Party
1983: Munin Sarmah, Indian National Congress
1985: Biraj Kumar Sarma, Assam Gana Parishad.
1991: Chitta Ranjan Patowari, Indian National Congress
1996: Biraj Kumar Sarma, Asom Gana Parishad
2001: Pankaj Bora, Indian National Congress
2006: Robin Bordoloi, Indian National Congress
2011: Robin Bordoloi, Indian National Congress
2016: Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Bharatiya Janata Party
New challengers eye Gauhati East
Mrigen Sarania is the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Guwahati City District and the former Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Mayor.
Mrigen Sarania has stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Guwahati District Committee (Mahanagar Zila Samiti) has set a target of winning every booth in the upcoming assembly elections.
The former Mayor has expressed his desire to contest from the much coveted Gauhati East constituency. The other challengers from the BJP include Santanu Bharali along with the incumbent MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya.
G Plus spoke to Gauhati East Constituency hopeful, Mrigen Sarania on his bid for a ticket to contest in the constituency and the preparedness for the Guwahati BJP ahead of the Assam Legislative Assembly elections.
Q. Whenever the question of Gauhati East crops up, your name also crops up in the media. Is it just goodwill or an indication of you becoming the frontrunner for the BJP’s MLA post?
Mrigen Sarania: I am a resident from East Gauhati. My grandfather was from here and I know everything about the place. I joined the BJP in 1994 and since then I have become the GMC Mayor. Since the people have seen my work and they know what I have done, that's why you find these utterances.
Q. Does that indicate you are the front-runner of BJP from Gauhati East?
Mrigen Sarania: The party will decide on that. Like I said, we have been here since the last 100 years in the area. I have personally taken so many initiatives. As such in this year's election I want to contest from Gauhati East.
Q. Guwahati has four constituencies. If you are not given a ticket in East, will you contest from another?
Mrigen Sarania: I can't say that. If the party orders I will do accordingly. But my main goal is to contribute so that we win all the four constituencies.
Q. You have already held the post of GMC Mayor. Will it be of disadvantage since the people of Guwahati are looking for someone accountable or will it be an advantage?
Mrigen Sarania: It will be an advantage. I have done much work and even gone to one of G Plus’s Ward Watch shows. During my tenure till 2018, many initiatives have been taken, which even the opposition area members and councillors will be able to tell you. I have made a book to showcase the works and we have received many positive feedbacks.
Q There have been issues with monetary allocation in certain development works. How will you as a legislator alter that problem?
Mrigen Sarania: During my tenure as Mayor, I have developed a system. With people's blessings if I get the seat, I will stay with them and we can move forward with the work and replicate those successes.
Q. Guwahati legislators are usually mostly concerned with the city. Do you plan to venture into Assam politics?
Mrigen Sarania: My main priority is my own constituency. That's why I have come up with the campaign name – ‘Mur Guwahati, Amar Guwahati’ (My Guwahati, Our Guwahati). I have time to deal with the Assam politics but currently I am totally focussed with Guwahati.
Q. Water logging is a menace in the city. How do you see a solution to the problem?
Mrigen Sarania: We first issued a tender in 2018 for drain cleaning in the next three years. I used to visit the area at 2 AM to check upon the contractors and how they are working. The concern areas are the Bharalu and the Bahini Rivers. We did an initiative at Bamunimaidan to divert the water. But we must also not forget that Guwahati is an unplanned city and people are also at fault at times. Awareness is the key and we also have to increase the number of GMC workers.
Q. Do Guwahatians lack awareness with instances of spitting constantly coming up?
Mrigen Sarania: As a mayor, I started an initiative that spitting should be recorded and photos would be taken and shared on Facebook. Social media should be used in this positive way. Awareness is the need and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has already spoken regarding the matter.
Q. What do you think about the AGP-BJP alliance in context of Guwahati?
Mrigen Sarania: In Gauhati West, we have Ramendra Narayan Kalita but the BJP power has increased. As part of the Guwahati Mahanagar Zila Committee, we have informed the leadership that the BJP has the chance to win there. Whatever the party tells us, we will do.
On the issues of the communication gap between the former area members and the AGP MLA, if this seat is given to us, all these problems will be solved.
Q. Why should you be elected?
Mrigen Sarania: We have been going forward and we want to go further ahead with our work. For that, we seek people’s blessing in our journey.