Dibrugarh: The BJP candidate from Dibraugarh, Sarbananda Sonowal is leading by 49,648 votes, according to early trends. A prominent seat from the upper Assam region, Dibrugarh holds a significant place in the context of Lok Sabha elections. It is one of the seats where the tea tribe community voters play a crucial role and that is why be it Congress or the BJP, mostly leaders representing the community have emerged victorious in the past elections.
However, in 2024, both the camps altered their strategy with the ruling NDA fielding Sarbananda Sonowal, a cabinet minister in the Modi 2.0 government and a former and first ever BJP Chief Minister of Assam from the seat. Sonowal being a prominent face of the party in the region, apart from being a local has prompted the saffron party to deny ticket to the incumbent MP Rameswar Teli, who also is a cabinet minister in the current government. While on the other hand, the Congress this time has opted to join hands with 15 other parties to form the Opposition Unity forum and the seat sharing arrangement paved the way for Asom Jatiya Parishad President Lurinjyoti Gogoi, a former student leader like Sonowal. However the contest is a triangular one with the AAP candidate Manoj Dhanowar also in the fray making the battle a must watch.
2024 polls: The total number of registered voters in this constituency in 2024 polls was 1659588, and the seat saw a voting turnout of 76.75% (1273744 total count of votes), according to the Election Commission’s data released on May 25, 2024. The seat went to polls in phase 1 on April 19, 2024.
In the 2019 LS Polls, Rameswar Teli of BJP (MoS Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and MoS Labour and Employment) won from Dibrugarh as he got 659,583 votes comprising 64.94% of the total number of votes polled. Teli defeated Congress candidate Pawan Singh Ghatowar by a margin of 3,64,566 votes. Teli had won in 2014 as well, getting 494,364 votes (55.49%) and defeating Ghatowar by a margin of 185,347 votes. In 2024, BJP snubbed Teli and fielded Sarbananda Sonowal (Union Minister of AYUSH, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways) from this seat.
