Gaurav Gogoi loses Jorhat to BJP MLA by 23,000 votes
Gaurav Gogoi loses Jorhat to BJP MLA by 23,000 votes
M.U.H
04/05/202622
Assam Congress Chief Gaurav Gogoi, who was once referred to as babbar sher by Rahul Gandhi, has lost the prestigious Ahom-dominated seat of Jorhat.
Sitting BJP MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami won the seat with 69,439 votes, while Congress's Gogoi trailed behind with 46,257 votes after 14 rounds of counting. The Congess MP from Jorhat failed to overturn a massive margin of 23,182 votes.
The son of former Assam Chief Minister and Congress stalwart, Tarun Gogoi, Gaurav Gogoi, contested his first Assembly election this time. The Lok Sabha MP was up against the BJP's Hitendra Nath Goswami from Jorhat.
Jorhat, the seat Gogoi represents in the Parliament, was crucial for him as its Assembly segment became one of the most significant political battlegrounds in the 2026 Assam Assembly elections. The seat in the Ahom heartland was crucial for not only strengthening his leadership within the Congress party, but also presenting a viable alternative to the BJP led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has been the Chief Minister since 2021.
Gaurav Gogoi, a confidant of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took over as President of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) in June 2025. He was appointed to the post after the previous incumbent Bhupen Borah resigned from the position, quit the party, and joined the BJP. Bohra has then alleged humiliation at the hands of state Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, and that Rahul Gandhi had failed to take his concerns into consideration.
The Congress went all in for the MP in the battle for Assam against Himanta Biswa Sarma's BJP in 2026. The Congress also banked on the dominant Ahom community by putting up a Gogoi face and forging two alliances with leaders from the same community.
Gaurav Gogoi, alongside Akhil Gogoi, the chief of Raijor Dal and the AJP chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi had formed what many termed the Congress-led 3G alliance in an attempt to Sharma's grip on Upper Assam. This was, however, thwarted by Sharma, who used a pincer attack of development and consolidation to boost the BJP's tally and return to power in Assam.
Hitendra Nath Goswami, who fought off Gaurav Gogoi's challenge, had previously served as Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly from 2017 to 2021. Formerly, he was associated with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). He later joined the BJP in 2014 after quitting AGP over leadership concerns, while maintaining his anti-Congress stance. He has represented the Jorhat Assembly constituency since 2016, when he won the seat on a BJP ticket.
