Union minister and former Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal has won the Dibrugarh seat in Assam for the second time, beating Lurinjyoti Gogoi by a margin of 2,79,321 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.
In 2004, the 61-year-old politician had contested the Lok Sabha polls on Asom Gana Parisad (AGP) ticket and defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kamakhaya Tasa with a vote margin of 2.94 percent.
Sonowal had secured a vote share of 35.0%, while his political opponent managed to get 32.06%. During the term, he also served as a member of the consultative committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
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However, in 2011, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and rose through the ranks quickly. The central leadership appointed him as the party's Assam unit president in 2012 and then became a national executive member.
In 2014, Sonowal was elected from Assam’s Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat, but the term did not last longer as he was declared as the first Chief Minister of Assam in 2016 from the Bhartiya Janata Party and was re-elected as MLA from Majuli in 2021.
Despite the saffron party’s victory, he resigned from the top post and proposed Himanta Biswa Sarma’s name as his successor. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha and currently holds the portfolio of Ports, Shipping, Waterways, and AYUSH.
Despite the saffron party’s victory, he resigned from the top post and proposed Himanta Biswa Sarma’s name as his successor. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha and currently holds the portfolio of Ports, Shipping, Waterways, and AYUSH.
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Sonowal is also credited to have played a key role regarding the issue of illegal migrants by going to the Supreme Court. In 2005, the apex court had passed a judgment, declaring the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act as unconstitutional. Until 2005, whether a person is Indian citizen or foreigner was decided by the IMDT Act.
In the run-up to 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Sonowal ran a high decibel in Dibrugarh constituency, focusing central and state sponsored schemes launched for the welfare of people.
The Lok Sabha polls for 543 seats were held in seven phases starting from April 19, while the last phase was held on June 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a rare third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.