Golaghat (Assam), 05 March (HS): Political activity has intensified across Assam ahead of the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections, with preparations gathering momentum in several constituencies, including Khumtai in Golaghat district. With the election announcement expected anytime, political parties have begun mobilising their organisational networks in the constituency.
Following the delimitation exercise, the Khumtai Assembly constituency has been reorganised by combining three revenue circles — Khumtai, Morangi and Golaghat. As part of the restructuring, the Greater Morangi Mouza has been included in the constituency, while the Brahmaputra area has been excluded.
The largely rural constituency comprises 22 gram panchayats, four zila parishad areas and two development blocks — Morangi and Kathalguri. The delimitation process has also brought significant changes to the demographic composition of the constituency. With more than 35 small and large tea gardens located in the area, political observers believe that the tea garden community could play a decisive role in the upcoming election.
The Khumtai Assembly constituency has been represented by BJP leader Mrinal Saikia for the past 10 years. He was first elected as an MLA in 2016 on a BJP ticket and secured a second consecutive victory in the 2021 Assembly election. Recently, during a public meeting, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma hinted that Saikia may again be fielded by the BJP in the 2026 polls, making it highly likely that he will contest from the seat once more.
On the other hand, considering the large tea garden population in the constituency, discussions are also gaining momentum within the Congress party about fielding Rozlina Tirkey as a potential candidate.
After the delimitation, the No. 106 Khumtai Assembly constituency has a total electorate of 1,72,816 voters. This includes 84,342 male voters, 88,342 female voters and five third-gender voters. Additionally, 4,988 new voters have been added to the electoral roll after delimitation, while 3,409 names have been removed.
Golaghat district was declared a full-fledged district in 1987 and initially only two Assembly constituencies — East Golaghat and West Golaghat — existed in the district. Over time, three more constituencies were added, bringing the total to five: Khumtai, Golaghat, Dergaon, Bokakhat and Sarupathar.
The political history of the Khumtai seat has also been quite interesting. In 1985, following the Assam Movement, Prabin Kumar Gogoi was elected from the seat as an Independent candidate. In 1991, Congress candidate Jibakanta Gogoi won the seat. Prabin Kumar Gogoi again secured victory as an Independent in 1996. In 2001, Jibakanta Gogoi returned to the Assembly for the third time on a Congress ticket and later served in key positions in the Assam government, including Cabinet Minister, Speaker of the Assembly and Finance Minister.
After the death of Jibakanta Gogoi in July 2002, a by-election was held in which Asom Gana Parishad candidate Prabin Kumar Gogoi emerged victorious. He again won the seat in 2006 as an AGP candidate and later served as Sports and Youth Welfare Minister in the Assam government.
In 2011, Congress candidate Bismita Gogoi was elected MLA and later served as Minister of Sericulture and Weaving Industries Development. In the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections, BJP leader Mrinal Saikia won the seat consecutively.
With the 2026 Assembly elections approaching, the Khumtai constituency is once again expected to witness a closely watched political contest.----------
Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash
