In Assam's Tezpur 'hot' seat, opponents run into each other

Tezpur on April 11 witnessed a friendly face-off between Congress candidate MGVK Bhanu and BJP’s candidate Pallab Lochan Das. The two bumped into each other at the historic Mahabhairav temple at Tezpur town.

However, Das, who earlier called Bhanu a ‘salani maas’ (imported fish) during a bitter election campaign, was seen exchanging greetings with his opponent.

Tezpur Lok Sabha constituency became the election ‘hot seat’ with BJP bigwigs vying for a ticket from there. While Das holds the portfolios of labour ministry and tea tribes welfare in Assam at present, Bhanu is an Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer of the 1985-batch. The former bureaucrat is a native of Navabupalem in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He also happens to be a former chairman of the Tea Board of India and is known for his proximity to former three-time former CM Tarun Gogoi.

Das, on the other hand, is a former Congressman who joined the BJP in 2016, along with Himanta Sarma and several other Congress leaders. He was named the candidate from Tezpur after BJP president Amit Shah “requested” party’s Northeast slayer Himanta Biswa Sarma not to contest the elections. BJP functionaries from Assam had mooted Sarma’s name for the Tezpur seat. But the central leadership requested him to concentrate on his responsibilities as NEDA convenor. Notably, the seat is currently held by Ram Prasad Sharma, who recently quit the BJP, alleging “neglect by new intruders”.

After offering his prayers at the temple, Das, told reporters today: “I have nothing personal against Bhanu. I wished him for the polls. The people of the state will choose their leader.”

The ancient Mahabhairav Temple is located at a hillock on the northern part of Tezpur town, Assam. This temple is believed to have been established by king Bana in the pre-historical times. This Shiva temple was originally built of stone but the present one was renovated and built with concrete.

Tezpur constituency, which is considered to be one of the most important Lok Sabha seats, comprises Dhekiajuli, Barchalla, Tezpur, Rangapara, Sootea, Biswanath, Behali, Gohpur and Bihpuria. As many as 76,03,458 voters are exercising their franchise in 9,574 polling stations in Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur Lok Sabha constituencies on today.