OUR CORRESPONDENT
TINSUKIA: The 126 Sadiya LAC is likely to witness a keen contest between the three candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC) and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), unlike in the previous elections.
The LAC with total electorate of 1,87,717, has equal number of voters on either side of River Brahmaputra comprising of various ethnic communities, including sizeable proportion of Nepali community. For sitting BJP MLA Bolin Chetia, it will be a rough ride this time after the Congress fielded Lakhin Chandra Chetia, a respected and popular person from the north bank for the first time since Independence which has made the people of Sadiya elated. Bolin Chetia, the three-time legislator since 2006, initially with INC ticket and two terms (2011 and 2016) with BJP ticket, could not impress the voters as the north bank still remains neglected as before with respect to poor infrastructure, flood and erosion problem, electricity, Arunachalee aggression, and road and communication, that bear testimony to the legislator's apathy towards the electorate.
Chetia will not be in a comfortable position as his once political foe, Jagadish Bhuyan, a keen politician with a clean image and the general secretary of the newly-flouted regional political party- Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) – is contesting on AJP ticket and is likely to put up a strong resistance. Bhuyan, former Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) minister, lost to Bolin Chetia by a margin of 2,794 and 6,867 votes in 2006 and 2011 general election respectively while Chetia lost to Bhuyan by a margin of 196 votes in the 2001 election. Interestingly, both Chetia and Bhuyan shifted their allegiance towards the BJP later. Though Bhuyan left the party after he was denied BJP ticket, the setback was that the BJP brigade that he carried along remained with Bolin Chetia and this made Chetia stronger than before.