GUWAHATI: At the end of the day it was the saffron party's show which led the incumbent government to retain its power in the state of Assam.
It is to be mentioned here that the high voltage election drama which all started from the beginning of 2021 ended in a one-sided affair favoring the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Meanwhile, trying to make a comeback by the outcasted Congress party did not make much of a difference.
Staring from the days of campaigning by the INC's heavyweights like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi to making promises of 5 Guarantees and hike in daily wages of tea workers, the Congress did all - out of the box strategy to lure voters in Assam.
The story doesn't end here, as the Congress party along with the "Mahajot", formed two months ago to oust the BJP from power failed miserably as this left a question for the citizens of the state about who will be the next chief minister if "Mahajot" is voted to power.
The voters could not trust Congress also due to the fact that the 15-year rule under Gogoi was marked by large-scale corruption and dissidence.
Congress seems to have over-estimated or miscalculated the anti-CAA public sentiments. Even as it campaigned aggressively on the issue, several leaders of the anti-CAA movement had joined the BJP.
However, with the overconfidence of assured success in / and with the fear of getting horse-traded, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), an ally of the Congress in the Mahajot, was shifted to a hotel in Jaipur.
According to reports, around 17 candidates from the AIUDF party were shifted to the Fairmont hotel in Jaipur.
The move came after their ally BOPF's (BPF) candidate from Tamulpur, Rangja Khungur Basumatary joined the BJP just five days ahead of the polls. The Mahajot got cautious.
On the other hand, in the latter part of the month post the voting, Congress candidates in Assam were also delicately isolated and kept at a resort at the outskirts of Guwahati as the Congress feared poaching.
Reportedly, at least 40 candidates of the party were put up at the Dichang Resort on Thursday morning.
Among those shifted to the Dichang Resort included Rupjyoti Kurmi, Wajed Ali Choudhuri, and Siddique Ahmed. Senior Congress leader Debabrata Saikia had also arrived at the Dichang Resort.
Unfortunately, all tried and tested tricks and policies of Congress failed to convenience anyone. And one more time the party will have to seat on the opposition bench of the Assam Legislative Assembly. What was worse is the fact that the party President Ripun Bora lost from Gohpur.