Barchalla elections 2026: BJP chases hat-trick as Congress looks to regain lost ground

Guwahati:

The polling in Assam for the 126-member Legislative Assembly will be held on April 9. One of the constituencies where polling would be held is the Barchalla constituency. A general seat that is a part of the Sonitpur district, the Barchalla assembly constituency consists of a cluster of villages, and it falls under the Sonitpur Lok Sabha constituency. 

This constituency was established in 1957. It later became part of the Missamari assembly constituency, but it was made a separate constituency again for the 1967 state elections. Traditionally, this seat was a Congress bastion, but since the 2016 assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expanded its footprints here.

A Congress bastion or a BJP stronghold?

From 1957 to 1967, this seat was represented by Congress leader Mohi Kanta Das. The party had briefly lost its hold on the seat, but Rudra Parajuli won it again during the 1991 assembly polls. The party lost this seat to the Asom Gana Parishad in 1996, only to regain it in 2001. From 2001 to 2016, Congress regained its control of Barchalla, with party leader Tanka Bahadur Rai representing it during this period. 

Coincidentally, this was a period when Congress stalwart Tarun Gogoi was Assam's chief minister. 

However, with the BJP's entry into the state in 2016, the Congress lost its hold on the Barchalla constituency. In the 2016 assembly elections, BJP leader Ganesh Kumar Limbu defeated Rai by a margin of around 23,000 votes. While Limbu received 53,912 votes, Rai received 30,230 votes. Limbu retained this seat again during the 2021 polls, defeating Congress candidate Ram Prasad Sharma by approximately 17,000 votes. Limbu had received 70,569 votes, while Sharma secured 52,787 votes back then.

Can the BJP score a hat-trick?

Despite Limbu winning this constituency twice, the BJP has decided to change its candidate for the 2026 polls and has fielded Ritu Baran Sarmah. The 42-year-old is a lowkey politician, who is a businessmen by profession. Against Sarmah, the Congress has fielded its former state president Ripun Bora. A former Rajya Sabha member, Bora had also served as a minister under Tarun Gogoi. He had also represented the Gohpur constituency from 2001 to 2011.

This year, the Barchalla assembly constituency will witness a triangular contest, with the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) fielding Baburam Bansumatary. Though Barchalla is poised for a tight contest, BJP's Sarmah has expressed confidence that he will retain the seat. He has also committed himself to the constituency's development if he gets elected. 

Polling in the Barchalla assembly constituency will be held on April 9. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.