Brothers-in-arms

Politicains usually promote their sons and daughters as their successors. And in case their children do not seem to be interested in pursuing politics as a career.....

Politicains usually promote their sons and daughters as their successors. And in case their children do not seem to be interested in pursuing politics as a career,they turn to their siblings. With his son and daughter not inclined towards politics,Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had to initiate younger brother Dip Gogoi,a contractor with the Public Works Department,to continue the family tradition.

Dip,a science graduate,landed in politics in 2001 when the Congress nominated him for the Titabor Assembly constituency. He won the seat only to resign and make way for his elder brother,as Gogoi was a Lok Sabha member while assuming the Chief Minister8217;s office.

The Kaliabor Lok Sabha seat fell vacant when Gogoi shifted to state politics. Hence,Dip became the Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha bypolls in 2001. Younger Gogoi,who had nothing to do with politics till 2001,subsequently became a permanent Congress candidate from Kaliabor,winning it again in 2004. He is fighting this Lok Sabha election from the same seat.

Gogoi defended his brother8217;s candidature thus: 8220;He is not there simply because he is my brother. He is very intelligent and has a tremendous analytical capability. You will be surprised with the way he analyses the Union Budget.8221;

But the Opposition parties,Asom Gana Parishad AGP and BJP,describe Dip as a stand-by for his elder brother. 8220;It is like keeping a handkerchief to reserve a bus seat. In case Tarun Gogoi wants to return to Parliament,Dip Gogoi will have to vacate Kaliabor. That is the arrangement,8221; says AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowari.

The Gogois are not the only brothers in Assam politics. The Congress candidate for the prestigious Guwahati Lok Sabha seat,Capt Robin Bordoloi,two-time MLA once from Dispur and currently from Guwahati East,is son of former Assam premier those days the post was premier Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi.

Interestingly,Capt Bordoloi8217;s younger brother and former general manager of Tata Tea Limited,Bolin Bordoloi,had also applied for the Guwahati Lok Sabha ticket from the Congress.

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Assam United Democratic Front AUDF chief and Mumbai-based perfume tycoon Badruddin Ajmal and his younger brother Sirajuddin Ajmal are both in the fray for the Lok Sabha elections. And both the brothers are contesting from two Lok Sabha seats each: while Badruddin is contesting from Silchar and Dhubri,Sirajuddin is contesting from Nagaon and Kaliabor where he will face Dip Gogoi. Ajmals are currently members of the Assembly.

The Congress has three couples. Culture Minister Bharat Chandra Narah8217;s wife Rani formerly Jahanara Choudhury is the party nominee for Lakhimpur. Former Union minister and four-time Dibrugarh MP Paban Singh Ghatowar is contesting again. His wife Jibantara is an MLA from Moran.

Similarly,Union Heavy Industries Minister and Congress candidate from Silchar Lok Sabha seat Santosh Mohan Deb8217;s wife Bithika is an MLA from Silchar town. Deb8217;s father Satindra Mohan Deb was an MLA and a minister in the 1950s.

Two former CMs 8212; Hiteswar Saikia Congress and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta AGP 8212; had brought in their wives into politics. Saikia made his wife a councillor and then Mayor of Guwahati in 1994. She later got elected from Nazira Assembly constituency in 2001,four years after her husband8217;s death. Mahanta had sent wife Jayshree Goswami Mahanta to the Rajya Sabha in 1998. Jayshree had also unsuccessfully contested as an Independent from Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency in 2004.