In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the most unexpected turn of events came from the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat. Here, the seasoned All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Baduddin Ajmal was decisively defeated by a relatively younger political figure, Rakibul Hussain of the Congress party, a result that left many intrigued.
The Congress party deliberately hid that its Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain won the Lok Sabha election by a margin of more than ten lakh votes. This is the highest margin in this Lok Sabha election. This is also the highest vote margin in the Indian Lok Sabha elections. The margin on Dhubri’s seat in 2024 is almost equal to the Congress party’s one-third MPs’ margin of votes on their respective seats. The Congress party’s vote share on the seat nearly doubled from 29 per cent in 2014 to 60 per cent in 2019.
Dhubri Lok Sabha seat in Assam has been represented by Badruddin Ajmal of AIUDF since 2009 without any break. Ajmal won the seat for three consecutive terms with a comfortable margin. The seat has the unique distinction of having the highest voting turnout in the 2014, 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections of 88.36, 90.66 and 92.08 per cent, respectively. The voting percentage in the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat in 2009 was 76 per cent, which increased out of proportion in forthcoming elections.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress party had put its Samaguri MLA and Deputy Leader in Assam Assembly, Rakibul Hussain, as its candidate. Hussain decisively defeated Ajmal by a record margin of ten lakh plus votes. Rakibul Hussain’s popularity in Assam can be judged by the fact that he defeated the two-term Chief Minister of Assam, Praful Kumar Mahanta, in his Assembly constituency of Samaguri.
Since Rahul Gandhi’s winning margin in both seats is much less than Hussain’s in Dhubri, the Congress party leadership and its allied media ecosystem are not highlighting Dhubri’s applaudable performance, as it will limit Rahul Gandhi’s electoral performance. None of the Congress party’s social media or its spokesperson is highlighting the issue in their debates on electronic media. This shows the biases of the Congress party and the undermining of their grassroots cadres.
It’s surprising to one and all that Rakibul Hussian doesn’t get any post in the Congress parliamentary party. It was expected that Rakibul Hussain would be given any post within the Congress parliamentary party due to his applaudable performance in this election. But he was neither appointed as Deputy Leader of Opposition, Chief Whip, or Whip. The Congress party deliberately tries not to project Rakibul Hussain; otherwise, Rahul Gandhi’s political prospect will be eclipsed.
This shabby treatment of Rakibul Hussain also shows the Congress party’s biased attitude towards the Northeast region and Muslims. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress party denied a ticket to its Barpeta sitting MP Abdul Khaleque and gave it to new candidate Dip Bayan. It is also a fact that the Congress party put only Muslims as its candidate from the seat. Even the Congress party ally gave tickets to only Muslims in case of contest in alliance on Barpeta Lok Sabha seat. Due to delimitation, the demography of the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat has changed, and Abdul Khaleque lost his nomination for the seat. This time, the AGP, the BJP ally, won the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat, while since 1998, either the Congress party or the AIUDF has been winning the seat.
This shows the Congress party’s callous attitude towards Muslims and leaders of the East, too. Late P A Sangma had to leave the Congress party due to the callous attitude of the Congress leadership, especially of Sonia Gandhi and her family. The Congress party may have to project Rakibul Hussain as its CM candidate in the 2026 Assam Assembly election. Still, the Congress party cannot tolerate any leader with a mass following.
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