Assam polls, Phase 2: Mahanta faces a challenge from former ULFA man, once his aide

There is nothing about the poor roads of Barhampur to suggest it is the constituency of a two-time CM and one of the best known Assamese politicians outside the state. Instead, there is tension below the surface.

At a tea stall some 10 km from the highway the list of grievances spills out. “This place is known for the cantonment. Is this the kind of road you expect around a cantonment? There is no water. How can you even say we are a VIP constituency?,” said a shopkeeper, refusing to identify himself.

Couched in the bijli sadak paani issues here are the pasts of the candidates from where the fear stems. “There has been violence in these parts even last night some people were beaten up,” the shopkeeper said.

At a Congress camp office, Chotikumar Boral was confident: “Nobody ever sees the AGP candidate in these parts, even if he is a sitting MLA. You can see the condition of the roads. Our candidate is a local, a social worker, they know him and trust him.”

That allegation about the absentee MLA keeps recurring. “He is a king, he lives in Guwahati. If it rains you will know what life is like, these roads are impossible to negotiate without getting mud upto your knees. This is going to be a mandate for the AIUDF,” said Ilyasuddin Tabris, working in his small electrical shop. The constituency has 1.59 lakh voters, 60% Hindus and 20% tribal, with AIUDF candidate Shariful Siddique threatening to spoil the Congress’s pitch for Muslim votes.

For the AGP, Bhabo Gayen said, “There is nothing that can defeat Mahanta in these parts. It is true that there is a lot of pending development work but let us also be fair. He could not do much with the Congress looting the people.”

There are rumours about how the money the Congress is “throwing around” dates back to the ULFA days because they come from “pinned bundles” — a practice since discontinued. There are also tales of the “reign of terror” that Suresh Bora once allegedly unleashed and his so-called “wealth”.

Retaining the seat may not be a cakewalk. for the 64-year-old former CM,