Ahead of Assam polls, Akhil Gogoi alleges NIA promised him bail if he joined BJP, RSS

In a sensational claim ahead of the Assam Assembly polls, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi alleged that NIA officials offered him instant bail if he joined either RSS or BJP. He was arrested by the NIA in December 2019 for his alleged role in violence during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. At present, he is admitted to the Gauhati Medical College Hospital where is undergoing treatment. Alleging that he was taken to Delhi on December 18, 2019, without the court's permission, Gogoi stated that he underwent “physical and mental torture" in NIA custody. 

As per a letter released by Raijor Dal, he was always offered a Ministerial berth on winning a vacant Assembly seat. According to the activist, the NIA officials threatened him with a long span of incarceration if he refused these offers. It is pertinent to note that his newly formed outfit is contesting the Assam election with Gogoi himself in the fray in the Sibsagar constituency. Earlier, he had urged people to vote for the strongest non-BJP candidate in every constituency to “save Assam". 

Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi claimed, "I was threatened with dire consequences if I don't accept their proposals. Death threats also came. I was threatened with at least 10 years of imprisonment. With so much physical and mental torture, I became restless on the night of December 20.” 

Assam Assembly polls 

The 15-year tenure of Tarun Gogoi as the Chief Minister of Assam came to an end in the 2016 Assembly polls with BJP winning 86 seats as against 26 seats won by Congress. In a blow for BJP in the lead-up to the upcoming Assembly election, its ally Bodoland People's Front (BPF) decided to join the Congress-led alliance. While BJP is contesting 92 seats, it has allocated 26 and 8 seats to Asom Gana Parishad and the United People's Party Liberal respectively. It has refrained from announcing incumbent CM Sarbananda Sonowal as the CM candidate, leading to speculations that Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma might be another contender for the post. 

Meanwhile, the opposition has stitched a strong alliance with Congress, BPF, AGM, AIUDF, CPI, CPI(M), and CPI(ML) joining hands. Announcing the dates of the upcoming Assembly polls, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora mentioned that 18.68 crore persons will decide the fate of 824 seats in the aforesaid 4 States and one Union Territory at 2.7 lakh polling stations. 47, 39 and 40 constituencies of Assam will go to the polls on March 27, April 1, and April 6 respectively. While the polling time has been increased by one hour, there will be 33,530 polling stations. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.   

(With PTI inputs)