Congress's Gaurav Gogoi loses Jorhat seat by 23,000 votes
What's the story
Assam Congress chief and son of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Gaurav Gogoi, has lost the prestigious Jorhat seat in the 2026 Assam Assembly election. The seat was won by the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Hitendra Nath Goswami, who secured 69,439 votes. In contrast, Gogoi could only manage 46,257 votes after all 14 rounds of counting were completed.
Political implications
Major setback for Congress
The loss is a major setback for the Congress party, which had hoped to strengthen its leadership in Assam with Gogoi's election. The seat was critical for not just consolidating his leadership within the Congress party but also offering a viable alternative to the BJP, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma since 2021. The Congress had also banked on the Ahom community by fielding a candidate from their ranks and forming alliances with local leaders.
Alliance impact
Gogoi's alliance failed to make an impact
Gogoi had formed an alliance with local leaders Akhil Gogoi of Raijor Dal and Lurinjyoti Gogoi of AJP. The Congress had stitched together a six-party alliance to challenge the BJP-led NDA. Several exit polls had projected the ruling BJP-plus to win an easy majority with over 80 seats. As of 2:30pm, the BJP-led NDA was leading in 99 seats.