Campaigning not exciting as opposition lacks strength, claims Assam minister

Guwahati: Assam minister Jayanta Mallabaruah said on Friday that campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state could have been interesting if the opposition had some strength on the ground.

“I have been touring the upper Assam region for the past few days, and I have not seen any opposition on the ground. They are doing public meetings with hardly 50 to 100 people,” Mallabaruah said.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is contesting the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat in upper Assam against Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the united opposition candidate.

Gogoi is the former President of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), and the opposition leaders are claiming that he would pose a strong challenge to Sonowal.

However, Mallabaruah quashed this claim as he asserted that former Assam CM Sonowal would win by a huge margin.

“Sarbananda Sonowal is set to win from Dibrugarh by a margin of at least four lakh votes. Lurinjyoti Gogoi does not command any support on the ground,” Mallabaruah said.

He also said the BJP nominee will defeat Congress' Gaurav Gogoi by a handsome margin in Jorhat.

"The Congress leader will be defeated by three lakh votes in Jorhat,” he claimed.