The Angkita Dutta saga and Himanta's strategy to corner Congress in Assam

When former Assam Youth Congress president Angkita Dutta opened a front against Srinivas B.V., many saw Himanta Biswa Sarma's shadow behind it.

Srinivas is not only holding the important post of youth Congress president; he is also seen as a trusted man of Rahul Gandhi. During the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic that badly hit the country and had a deadly effect in the national capital, the efforts of Srinivas at that time got him into the public attention.

Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo yatra that began in southern India, Srinivas is believed to have played an important role in giving the campaign its initial boost. For the upcoming Karnataka election, he is a key player in galvanising the Youth Congress workers.

Himanta Biswa Sarma never wastes any chance to either attack or dent Rahul Gandhi's image. The popular belief is that Sarma was just about to dethrone Tarun Gogoi from the Chief Minister's chair in 2012 by arranging a coup against the late Congress veteran. He paraded around 50 MLAs in front of the party high command to prove his strength; however, it was Rahul Gandhi's last-minute thrust that failed Sarma.

Since he joined the BJP, Sarma has always been seen launching sharp attacks on the former Wayanad MP.

Angkita Dutta, daughter of former Congress Minister Anjan Dutta, gained prominence in state politics for the last few years. She has the image of a streetfighter, actively organising protests against the BJP government in Assam. After former Assam Youth Congress president Kamrul Islam Choudhury was relieved, Dutta was given the responsibility of handling the youth wing of the party in Assam.

The problems started to build up when the party's top brass was not ready to give Angkita another term to run the Youth Congress in the state. She was upset with the decision and approached the party leaders to reconsider it. By then, the party had already decided to conduct Youth Congress elections. Dutta was advised to focus on electoral politics and dropped a hint that she might have been asked to fight the Lok Sabha election from Jorhat.

Angkita Dutta has fought the Assembly elections twice from the Amguri constituency in Sivasagar district, a seat once held by her late father, Anjan Dutta. But she lost the polls both in 2016 and 2021 to Prodip Hazarika of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).

Hazarika was also an opponent of Anjan Dutta, and the late Congress leader lost polls twice to him. The battle between the Dutta family and Hazarika has been continuing since 1991.

Having lost twice in Amguri, Angkita Dutta knew that it was very hard to win this seat as long as the AGP was in alliance with the BJP. In this scenario, fighting the Lok Sabha election from Jorhat may not have been a good choice for her.

On the other hand, Himanta Biswa Sarma wants to convert Assam's electoral politics into a binary where the Hindu votes will consolidate in favour of the BJP and either Congress or the AIUDF will take up the Muslim votes. As per this plan, Congress' Hindu vote bank should entirely shift to the saffron party. That is why Sarma has a target of winning all seats in the upper Assam area, where Hindus are predominant. In many seats in lower and southern Assam, the Muslim population is either a deciding factor or has overcome the Hindu votes to become the majority.

According to party sources, Sarma has instructed to prepare a plan to defeat all Hindu MLAs or MPs of Congress in the upcoming elections. It has been anticipated that a few of the sitting Congress MLAs belonging to the Hindu community may switch sides to the BJP before the 2026 Assembly election.

According to this strategy, the BJP has set a target to use all its forces to defeat Gaurav Gogoi and Pradyut Bordoloi, the Congress Lok Sabha MPs in 2024.

In 2026, similarly the BJP has zoomed in on a few seats held by top Congress leaders in the state. One of such seats is Nazira; the leader of opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, is currently an MLA from there.

When Angkita Dutta revolted against Srinivas B.V. and lodged a police complaint, the clever politician Himanta Biswa Sarma eyed many targets.

First, being a key member of Congress in the Karnataka polls, Srinivas getting accused in a harassment case by his former colleague is an utter embarrassment for the party, which is looking to return to power in that state. Also, as Srinivas is a trusted man for Rahul Gandhi, this would hit the Congress leader as well.

Also, following her police complaint and expulsion from the Congress, Angkita Dutta may have to join the saffron camp in the near future to carry on her political journey, as she has exhausted her options of being in Congress. Though Himanta Biswa Sarma has turned down the possibility of Dutta's induction to the BJP anytime soon, as per top party sources, she may be pitted against Debabrata Saikia in the 2026 Assembly election, which is part of Sarma's plan to wipe out Congress from the Hindu-dominated areas of Assam.