News Desk: The recent announcement that Akhil Gogoi will contest the forthcoming elections from the jail came as a much-needed booster for the 'neo regionalist' forces of Assam, who had been planning to keep the BJP out of power in the April polls.
The Raijor Dal, the political party floated by Akhil Gogoi-led Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), recently announced that Gogoi, who has been in jail over sedition charge for more than one year now, will not only lead the party but also contest the April polls from jail. Although the Gauhati High Court had recently rejected the bail application of Gogoi, the KMSS is moving to the Supreme court seeking bail for the prominent farmers' leader and RTI activist.
It may be mentioned here that the regional political parties in the poll-bound state had also received a shot in the arm recently after the Raijor Dal announced that they will contest the polls together with the Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP), a political outfit born out of the anti-CAA movement and led by firebrand young turk, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the former general secretary of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU).
"Akhil Gogoi is going to lead the party from inside the jail. He is likely to contest from two constituencies -- Sivsagar and Teok, from where he had formed the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) in 2005. We are facing some problems as Akhil Gogoi is in jail but we hope 'jailed Akhil Gogoi' will be more encouraging for all the members of Raijor Dal," said working president of Raijor Dal Bhasco D Saikia.
Saikia said that the people of Assam know why the government has kept Akhil Gogoi inside jail. "There is no possibility that the government will release him. We will go ahead with Akhil Gogoi in jail. The government is scared and that is the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to address a public rally from Sivsagar on January 23," said Saikia.
Read: Election officials review poll preparations in Assam
Veteran political commentator and journalist Haider Hussain said that Akhil's Gogoi's decision to contest the elections will definitely have an impact on the regional forces in Assam ahead of the polls. "In Assam's recent political history, there is no one who has contested the elections from jail. In 1952, CPI leader Gouri Shankar Bhattacharyya contested the polls but was released before the elections. There are possibilities but it all depends on how the party exploits the possibilities in the days to come," he said.
"The NIA has claimed that they have 18 pieces of evidence against Akhil Gogoi relating to the case pertaining to his nexus with the Maoists. However, the trial process is yet to start. We are waiting for the trial process to begin. However, as per Indian law, a person is innocent until he is proved guilty. So until he is proved guilty, Gogoi can contest polls from jail," said Krishna Gogoi, the counsel of Akhil Gogoi.
Known for his simplicity, Akhil Gogoi and his organisation KMSS have a substantial mass base in different districts of the state. Thousands of people had taken to the streets during the anti-CAA movement after Akhil Gogoi came out on the streets. It was also because of the strong opposition by Akhil Gogoi and KMSS that the Central government had failed to make much headway during the Lower Subansiri Hydropower projects. With the prominent farmers' leaders in jail now, the Raijor Dal and AJP together are likely to swing votes in their favour in the forthcoming polls.
Read: PM Modi to visit poll-bound Assam on Jan 23
It may be mentioned here that during the anti-CAA movement, a case was registered against Gogoi at the Chandmari police station in Guwahati, which was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Gogoi was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, sedition, criminal conspiracy, support to terrorist organisations and others.
He was arrested on December 12, 2019 for his role in the protests against CAA, which seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists and Jains from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He was later handed over to the NIA and a court sent him to 10 days custody of the agency on December 17. He was taken to New Delhi the same day for questioning. Gogoi was brought back to Guwahati on December 25 and has been in judicial custody ever since.
