How Congress MP Rakibul Hussain Won Assam's Dhubri Seat And Created A National Record?

Moments after Congress leader Rakibul Hussain won the Lok Sabha seat from Dhubri, a district sharing a riverine border with Bangladesh in lower Assam, state chief minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma called him the ‘hero of the day’ and stated that he should be discussed.

Hussain, who is a Congress MLA from Samaguri in Nagaon and now the people’s representative to parliament from Dhubri, has had a tumultuous relationship with CM Sarma in the political and public domain.

Many in the political circles of the state termed Rakibul’s task in Dhubri as a Herculean one, with his journey becoming arduous right after his nomination. He had pitched himself against Badruddin Ajmal, the founder of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and three-time MP from Dhubri, who is also a multi-millionaire perfume baron.

Dhubri — with a voting population of 26,60,827 spread across the assembly segments of Dhubri, Mankachar, Jaleshwar, Goalpara East, Srijangram, Mandia, Gauripur, Bilasipara, Birsingh Jarua, and Chenga — has the highest percentage of voters from the minority community in the state, with around 85% of voters being from the Muslim community. Among them, approximately seven lakh voters are ‘Desi’ or indigenous Muslims, while over 14 lakh voters are Bengali-speaking migrated Muslims.

The results on June 4 not only created history for Dhubri in the annals of electoral records but also provided ample opportunity for Rakibul to prove his mettle and silence all who doubted his candidature. By the time Rakibul, accompanied by his wife and son, reached the electoral officers to receive his certificate, which will now adorn the walls of his study room as one of his finest achievements, the record showed that he garnered 14,71,885 votes, while his nearest rival Ajmal received 4,59,409 votes. The margin of victory was an astounding 10,12,476 votes.

Rakibul achieved the second-highest victory margin in the country during the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The top spot was taken by BJP Indore candidate Shankar Lalwani, who achieved the highest victory margin, securing 11,75,092 votes.

Data That Defines The Victory

Rakibul’s advantage over votes is listed in an assembly segment-wise breakup. The senior Congress leader and former minister in the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government has emerged as the “Lakhpati” in each of the assembly segments, which made the difference this time.

1. Gauripur: INC – 1,88,255; AIUDF – 38,891
2. Golakganj: INC – 68,539; AIUDF – 11,323
3. Birsing Jarua: INC – 1,63,211; AIUDF – 66,305
4. Bilasipara: INC – 78,371; AIUDF – 13,260
5. Mankachar: INC – 1,63,792; AIUDF – 38,446
6. Jaleshwar: INC – 1,34,640; AIUDF – 55,703
7. Goalpara East: INC – 1,25,084; AIUDF – 25,458
8. Srijangram: INC – 1,18,468; AIUDF – 47,942
9. Chenga: INC – 1,46,463; AIUDF – 51,139
10. Mandia: INC – 1,44,677; AIUDF – 70,152

Why Was The Drift So Visible This Time?

A close insight into the percentage of votes reveals that Rakibul garnered 59.99% of votes against 18.72% of Ajmal.

Rakibul, not being a native of Dhubri, made him an outsider, which was one of the major hurdles he had to encounter while making his foray into Dhubri. In the same frequency, Ajmal too is from Hojai; however, his 15-year-long stint as an MP from Dhubri had made him more or less a local.

Second was his dialect; Rakibul was not well-versed in the local Desi, spoken by the indigenous Muslims, Goalpariya, and the Rajbongshi dialect, which was an impediment for the senior Congress leader.

In a previous interview with News18 Assam Northeast, Rakibul stated that he speaks the language of the common people and connects with the sentiments of the constituency. He emphasised that he would not only receive overwhelming support from Bengali-speaking Muslims but also a fair share of votes from the Desi and Hindu communities. The results rightfully corroborated his claims on June 4.

During his entire campaign across the length and breadth of his constituency, Rakibul stuck to the following points which related his thoughts to his voters:

• Need of a strong candidate to counter check PM Modi in Delhi
• The fate of the country if it’s “charso par” and therefore, the need of leader who shall represent the community in Delhi
• Strong criticism against the government’s policy of child marriage arrests and putting mothers behind bars
• Select “Me” as your representative and I shall stand against 50 such Himanta Biswa Sarma’s as a fortified defence
• Aggressive campaigning by Akhil Gogoi, MLA Sibsagar, opposing Hindu Rashtra despite being a Hindu himself
• Drift of minority Muslim voters after Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra and Priyanka Gandhi’s mega rally in Dhubri
• Inflow of a huge number of Bengali-speaking minority voters to Dhubri for voting, presenting what the nation thinks of Badruddin Ajmal
• Feverish pitching of him as a better alternative, who is non-aligned with the BJP or Assam BJP leaders.

What Went Against Badruddin Ajmal?

• All praises for Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
• A soft stance against Sarma-led government in the state
• Silence after the demolition of madrassas in Assam
• Not being with the community at times of need and distress
• Extreme anti-incumbency
• Low voting turnout in assembly constituencies under AIUDF.

While Rakibul’s contention and his success were being questioned in the corridors of politics, the man himself was knee-deep in preparation. He had hired a four-storied building in Dhubri for six months and engaged his son and men to oversee his preparation and ground work. While there was obvious complacency on the part of Ajmal, Rakibul was laborious, used all means and mediums to reach his people, and perfectly balanced his duties as a Congress star campaigner in the state and industrious party man for his own cause.

During my visit to Dhubri, a senior citizen in the border district town, who had seen all three terms of Ajmal, stated that it’s “enough of Chaha” and this time it’s for a change. The same thought resonated on the day of voting, and the Muslims, irrespective of their congregation, gelled with Congress. A phenomenon that was reflected in Nagaon and to some extent in Karimganj, another constituency along the Indo-Bangladesh border of south Assam.