GUWAHATI: On 29th March last, the Congress party announced Bobbeeta Sharma as its candidate to contest the Gauhati Lok Sabha (LS) seat for the Lok Sabha elections 2019 making the contest attention-grabbing in Guwahati as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had already fielded Queen Ojha who is also a prominent female politician of the city.
If money investment is to be taken as the key factor to win Lok Sabha elections, the contest will be exciting as both the candidates are well-known businesswomen of the city.
Speaking of political backgrounds, Sharma, married into a known Congress family, contested the state legislative assembly elections of 2016 from Gauhati East constituency but was defeated by Siddhartha Bhattacharya.
Queen Ojha has more political experience than Sharma as Ojha has been active as a politician since the days of the Assam Agitation. She later joined Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and in 1996 became the Mayor of Guwahati after winning Guwahati Municipal Corporation elections.
Ojha also contested for legislative assembly in 2001 from Gauhati East constituency but was defeated by Congress candidate Capt Robin Bordoloi. Even Siddhartha Bhattacharya was defeated in the same year.
Ojha joined BJP in 2014 and has now been fielded by BJP for the Gauhati Lok Sabha seat.
Both the candidates have undergone the experience of losing legislative assembly elections from the same constituency (Gauhati East).
“Queen is only a matriculate whereas Bobbeeta is a post-graduate, so we are still wondering whom to vote for in this general election,” said a university student of the city.
Educational qualification wise, Bobbeeta has an upper hand as she is a post-graduate and Queen is just a matriculate.
“I will not make any promises because my work is my identity and it will speak for itself,” said Ojha while at an election rally. So Ojha is playing the development card.
Bobbeeta, on the other hand, is playing the slam game and is slamming the BJP for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill row and its other unfulfilled promises.
Though the results will give the exact picture as to who will come out the winner, Guwahatians, for the first time, will witness two women fighting for the coveted MP chair.
The other prominent name in this fight is senior Supreme Court advocate, Upamanyu Hazarika, who is contesting as an independent candidate.