Mariani poll battle to feature political dynast vs ex-prof’s idealism

Dibrugarh: Come April 9 and Jorhat’s Mariani constituency will be witnessing a fascinating political contest — a battle between a deeply entrenched political dynasty and a fresh, idealism-driven challenger.Sitting BJP MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi, who has represented Mariani for four consecutive terms, faces his most unconventional rival in 34-year-old Gyanashree Bora, a former chemistry lecturer-turned-politician, who is fielded by the Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal. While two Independent candidates — Siddhartha Bora and Bijay Manjani — are also in the fray, the contest between Rupjyoti and Gyanashree is expected to decide the fate of the constituency.

The Kurmi family’s grip on Mariani is nothing short of extraordinary. Rupjyoti’s late mother, Congress’s Rupam Kurmi, won the seat thrice in 1991, 1996 and 2001, besides serving as a cabinet minister in the Tarun Gogoi-led govt. After her passing, 48-year-old Rupjyoti seamlessly inherited the mantle, winning in 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021 — as a Congress candidate. However, in a remarkable turn of events, Rupjyoti, following his 2021 victory, crossed over to BJP, and will now contest for the first time under the party’s banner.

So far, the Kurmi legacy has remained unbroken for 35 years — from 1991 to 2026 — which is being challenged by Gyanashree.While Rupjyoti has won four on the trot, all of his victories have come by razor-thin margins. In 2021, he defeated BJP’s Ramani Tanti by just 2,446 votes, while in 2016 he scraped through against NCP’s Alok Kumar Ghosh by only 1,793 votes. Even in 2006 and 2011, his margins were modest at 3,017 and 7,058 votes, respectively.“I have served Mariani for four terms. I have always fought for this constituency, and regardless of the party colour, my commitment to Mariani remains unchanged,” Rupjyoti said.Gyanashree, who recently resigned from her post as an assistant lecturer in the chemistry department of Goalpara College, is banking on the constituency’s long-unresolved issues to make her case — drinking water shortages, crumbling road infrastructure and rickety bridges in rural pockets, rampant unemployment, and the Assam-Nagaland border dispute.is banking squarely on the constituency’s long-unresolved issues to make her case — drinking water shortages, crumbling road infrastructure and rickety bridges in rural pockets, rampant unemployment, and the chronic and sensitive Assam-Nagaland border disputeA brilliant student throughout her academic career, Gyanashree said, “The people of Mariani have given the same family 35 years.

What has changed? The roads are still broken, our youth are jobless, people struggle for drinking water, and the Nagaland border issue still looms over our villages. It is time for Mariani to choose accountability over inheritance.”A crucial battleground within this contest will be the tea community’s vote. Tea tribe voters constitute approximately 34% of Mariani’s total electorate — and Rupjyoti himself belongs to this community, giving him a natural and deeply personal connect with this bloc. For Gyanashree and the Raijor Dal, making a decisive dent in the tea tribe vote bank will be crucial.