Interview/ Gaurav Gogoi, state Congress president, Assam
Q/ What are the core principles that guide your political decision making?
A/ It is entrenched in the values passed on to me by my father (Tarun Gogoi, former chief minister), combined with a sense of modernity and understanding of what the youth wants. It keeps evolving. Assam is diverse with many different communities, each with different aspirations. To unite that diversity, leadership is something I continue to work on.
Q/ The BJP has clarity on what people in each position have to do, while the Congress doesn’t seem to have that structure. How do you address that?
A/ I don’t see the BJP’s machine-like, cult-like operation as aspirational. The Congress is a party of individuals, each having the right to their own opinion and the right to express it. That’s how we learn, by listening to diverse opinions. That’s what makes us richer and has helped us guide different states and the nation over decades.
The BJP’s way is top-down, where people have no right to express their opinion. That’s why you get ghastly decisions like demonetisation, president’s rule in Manipur and the fracturing of the geopolitical neighbourhood.
Q/ What is the rationale behind not aligning with the AIUDF?
A/ The reality of the AIUDF was revealed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in an interview—his friendship with the AIUDF leader and how he would dictate certain political decisions that the AIUDF would later take. Looking back at 2021, when the Congress and the AIUDF came together for the first time, we realised how the AIUDF sabotaged us right towards the end, amplifying slogans that the BJP was raising against us.
Traditionally, the Congress and the AIUDF have remained poles apart. It was only in 2021 that we experimented, and then realised that they act at the behest of the chief minister. Therefore, any question of alliance is absolutely out of the question.
The people of Assam have wised up to the AIUDF. In the last Lok Sabha polls, their leader lost in his own constituency to a Congress candidate by 10 lakh votes. People in AIUDF-strong areas want a stronger Congress because they believe the Congress can take on the BJP.
Q/ Your supporters in the party say you work silently. How did you win the Lok Sabha seat when the BJP was trying everything to defeat you?
A/ I’m a low-key person. I don’t like to blow my own horn. I prefer having active decision-makers and active citizens rather than subjects. That’s a different strategy from the BJP, which treats people as subjects who should do as they’re told, take government scheme benefits and then lose their right to criticise.
My approach is about strengthening democracy. I work more with people in smaller groups and lean on them because they’re able to organise in ways that even a political party cannot. That approach worked for me in the Lok Sabha [elections].
Q/ At the same time, some say it’s hard to reach out to you, that there’s not much response. Would this impact the Congress’s coordination?
A/ If I was extremely aloof, people wouldn’t be supporting me. Of course, one would always like to be more accessible. There’s sometimes truth in it, and sometimes spin put on it by political competitors. It’s important to lean on technology to listen to people, meet them in groups and take feedback constructively.
Q/ Is there a possibility of an alliance with the Trinamool Congress, which has some influence in the Barak Valley?
A/ No chance. I don’t think we align with them in West Bengal, and outside West Bengal, at least in Assam, I don’t see them having a major role.
Q/ The Congress’s seats have been somewhat the same since 2016.
A/ If you look at patterns from 1999, from 2001 to 2016, the Congress used to do very well in Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur and Biswanath. We’re trying to regain territory we lost post-2016. It’s not about gaining, but regaining. We need to continuously reach out and regain their trust as a viable alternative to the present regime.
Q/ Can the Congress regain territory in Upper Assam?
A/ Because of the chief minister’s own loopholes and failures, there are gains to be made across Assam. In Upper Assam, where the Congress was traditionally strong, and in the tea garden areas, we can regain ownership.
In the recent tribal council elections in the Kokrajhar BTR region, communities that traditionally voted for the BJP moved away. There is tremendous resentment in tribal-dominated areas because close to 13,000 acres have been transferred to big companies like Adani, Ambani and Patanjali. [This is] land protected under the Sixth Schedule. The chief minister colluded with local tribal council cronies to sign away this land. There’s resentment against this leadership in all parts of Assam.
Q/ Political analysts say the Congress has been unable to build on the Zubeen Garg issue.
A/ We don’t want to politicise Zubeen Garg—Zubeen is beyond politics. Our aim is to pay tribute to this great son of Assam who revived Assamese music and cinema, taught people to look after wildlife and ecology, and inspired us with his vast knowledge from reading thousands of books.
Second, we stand by his family seeking truth about what led to his death. It’s unfortunate that while in the Singapore courts it is called an accidental death, the Assam police (SIT, constituted by Sarma) call it murder, but haven’t provided concrete evidence. More sinister are attempts by certain BJP elements to tarnish Zubeen’s character, which we won’t allow.
It’s unfortunate that the prime minister has spent four days in Assam on different occasions but deliberately avoided going to Zubeen’s memorial or meet the family. Recently, the family had to write to him seeking justice—three months later, they’re no closer to the truth.
Q/ The chief minister has questioned Priyanka Gandhi’s role in Assam, pointing to elections in Kerala (she is the Wayanad MP). How do you respond?
A/ Assam is known for wise, educated, soft-spoken people; for tea, rhinos, Bihu dance, silk and sportspersons. It’s unfortunate that now Assam is known for the muck that comes out of Himanta Biswa Sarma’s mouth.…
Priyanka Gandhi’s appointment shows the Congress’s seriousness about the Assam elections. We have one of our tallest leaders as the screening committee chairperson; she’ll be a star campaigner. We also have the Karnataka deputy chief minister, former Chhattisgarh chief minister, and former Jharkhand minister appointed here. This shows how seriously the Congress leadership in Delhi treats these elections. As Assam Congress president, I’m grateful for their support.
Q/ When is Rahul Gandhi's yatra going to start?
A/ It would be presumptuous to call it a yatra—his presence can take many forms. The appointment of key leaders has his stamp of approval. After AICC observers were appointed, our first meeting decided to have zonal conventions of party workers. Within days, we organised four successful zonal conventions over three-four days, with two more planned on March 27 and 28.
We’re working closely with the AICC leadership.