I planned for A-plus BJP, but got B-minus BJP campaign, says Congress' Gaurav Gogoi

Gaurav Gogoi, a Congress MP from Jorhat in Assam, won the Lok Sabha elections with a margin of 1.44 lakh votes, one of only three victories for the Congress party in the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state

Gaurav Gogoi is clear about the recipe for his landmark victory from Jorhat in Assam in the Lok Sabha elections: he expected an A-plus opposition but encountered a B-minus rival campaign. To top it, he says, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma and campaign had little impact.

Thrown into the deep end of an unfamiliar and newly reorganised constituency with only one month to campaign, nobody had given the young Congress star much chance to win. But he took everyone by surprise — admirers as well as detractors by winning the seat with a margin of 1.44 lakh votes.

His was one of only three victories for the Congress party in the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the State. The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) won nine.

In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters, Mr. Gaurav Gogoi said people also found the Congress a credible platform to vent their anger against the BJP rule, both at the state and national levels.

“In Assam, I saw a very dispirited and weak campaign by the BJP. I was expecting a much more forceful, meaningful, impactful campaign from the BJP and my planning was for that. I planned for an A-plus BJP but I got a B-minus BJP campaign.”

He said he did not see the impact of Mr. Modi even though the Prime Minister had visited Jorhat twice in the run-up to the election. "I was extremely surprised that there was not even one talking point which resonated with the people," he said.

It was quite different in the previous two elections. In 2014, the people of Assam were talking about the Gujarat model, and in 2019 they were caught up with the [national security] events leading to the elections, he said.