Assam Campaign’s Final Hours Turn Bitter, Personal With Wives Of Sarma, Gogoi Being Targeted

• Assam’s elections have always been intense, shaped by questions of identity, migration and language.

• But this series of attacks feels like a shift—away from those big political questions and towards far more personal, family-focused attacks

• Both the BJP and the Congress are trading allegations that move well beyond policy or governance

In the closing stretch of the Assam election campaign, political rhetoric has taken a sharply personal turn, with both the BJP and the Congress trading allegations that move well beyond policy or governance.  Assam goes to the polls on April 9. 

At the centre of the recent controversy are the wives of Himanta Biswa Sarma and Akhil Gogoi, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma and Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi respectively. Sarma responded strongly after Congress leaders raised questions about his wife’s citizenship status. The Congress party had alleged that Sarma's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, holds three foreign passports (UAE, Egypt, and Antigua and Barbuda) and owns undisclosed properties in Dubai and a company in the USA.  

Sarma rejected the claims and publicly pointed to what he described as inconsistencies in the allegations, including issues related to name, identification records, and nationality. “The press conference by Pawan Khera reflects the deep frustration and panic within the Congress party. As Assam moves decisively towards a historic mandate, such desperate and baseless attacks only expose their sinking ground. I categorically reject every allegation made by him. These are malicious, fabricated, and politically motivated lies aimed at misleading the people of Assam," Sarma posted on X. 

"My wife and I will be filing both criminal and civil defamation cases within the next 48 hours against Shri Pawan Khera. He will be held fully accountable for his reckless and defamatory statements,” he informed on X.  

Assam Congress President Gaurav Gogoi responded to Himanta Biswa Sarma saying, “he should answer these questions: Does the wife of Himanta Sarma hold a Golden visa for Dubai? Is the Golden visa on an Indian passport? Does any family member of Himanta Biswa Sarma own properties in Dubai? Does any family member of Himanta Biswa Sarma operate a business in a foreign country? Has Himanta Biswa Sarma disclosed his or his family’s wealth and properties abroad in his election affidavit? There will be an investigation, and justice will be served to the guilty.”

In retaliation, leaders of the BJP escalated the attack towards Gaurav Gogoi, focusing on his wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi. BJP spokespersons, including Sarma himself, have alleged that she holds foreign citizenship and have called for scrutiny of her background. Some party figures have also made claims suggesting links to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI. 

These allegations, however, remain unproven and have not been substantiated by publicly available evidence. The Congress has dismissed the charges as politically motivated and defamatory, accusing the BJP of dragging families into the electoral arena to divert attention from substantive issues. 

Assam’s elections have always been intense, shaped by questions of identity, migration and language. But this series of attacks feels like a shift—away from those big political questions and towards far more personal, family-focused attacks, something that’s becoming increasingly common in Indian politics. And because all of this is unfolding in the final hours of campaigning, these claims are hard to verify, even harder to respond to properly, and almost impossible to separate from the noise of the moment before voters head to the polls.