Guwahati, Nov 5: Just hours after Assam Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika made headlines by alleging that the Congress nominee for the Behali by-election purchased his ticket for Rs 2 crore, Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi fired back during a campaign meeting in Behali, on Tuesday.

Gogoi, while speaking to the press, recalled Hazarika’s past comments regarding his potential candidacy in the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat, saying, “I don’t know if he remembers, but one should always speak about things they can back up. Tomorrow, if Jayanta Bora files a case against him, he will have to apologise. When addressing the public, one must be careful.”

Notably, during a public meeting in March ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Hazarika claimed that Gogoi would lose the Jorhat seat to BJP nominee Tapan Gogoi by a margin of over 2.5 lakh votes.

Earlier that day, Hazarika, while refraining from naming the candidate, alleged on a popular micro-blogging site that “strong rumours” suggest the Congress candidate paid around Rs 2 crore for his ticket, with funds purportedly going to a “senior leader in Jorhat” and another in Alwar, Rajasthan. Hazarika described the situation as a “tragedy” for Congress workers if true.

In response, the Jorhat MP criticised the BJP for allegedly deceiving the electorate in Behali, particularly women. Gogoi claimed that women in the constituency expressed their frustration over unfulfilled promises made by the BJP, including financial incentives that were never paid.

“The women folk here are hurt. They were promised Rs 10,000 but never received it,” he stated. Gogoi accused the BJP of coercing voters into supporting the ruling party, saying, “I don’t know when this culture of coercing people to vote for them made its way into the BJP. This was not the case during the times of Bijoya Chakraborty, Ramen Deka, Rajen Gohain, or Sarbananda Sonowal.”

He expressed confidence that the accumulated anger among the people would manifest at the ballot box during the upcoming by-poll. “The BJP’s deception has been building up, and the people will show their discontent with their votes,” Gogoi said.

The war of words reflects the tense political atmosphere as the Behali by-poll nears, with both the political powerhouses eager to influence public opinion.