Established in 1967, Bokajan has participated in 12 Assembly elections so far. The Congress party has won the maximum five terms, while the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC), a local Marxist outfit, won four back-to-back terms between 1991 and 2006. The Janata Party held this seat once in 1978, and the BJP has scored two consecutive victories in the last two elections.
Klengdoon Engti of the Congress party won the Bokajan seat in 2011, defeating the incumbent ASDC MLA Jagat Sing Engti, who was in the fray this time as an Independent, by 16,808 votes. The BJP, which had finished a distant third in 2011, surged ahead with its nominee Mumal Momin defeating Congress’s sitting MLA Klengdoon Engti by 4,744 votes. Momin retained the seat in 2021 by an increased margin as he prevailed over Raton Engti of the Congress by 17,885 votes.
Voting trends in the Bokajan Assembly segment also suggest a gradual growth of the BJP, which came from behind to dominate parliamentary polls. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress led the ASDC by 13,793 votes. The BJP, which had finished a distant third, surged to the lead in 2014 and has since held on to the pole position. The BJP led the Congress by 3,163 votes in 2014 and 19,752 votes in 2019, which jumped to a lead of 71,642 in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Bokajan has, by and large, remained unaffected by the SIR 2025 and the 2023 delimitation, as its voter base has grown steadily. It had 157,241 eligible voters in the final electoral roll for the 2026 elections, up from 150,200 voters it had in 2024. Earlier, it stood at 149,929 in 2021, 140,447 in 2019, 129,427 in 2016 and 131,747 in 2011. The Scheduled Tribes were the most dominant bloc with 46.44 per cent electors, while the Scheduled Castes and Muslim voters had a miniscule presence in this constituency. The voter turnout has remained steady and high with 74.40 per cent in 2011, 74.60 per cent in 2016, 79.61 per cent in 2019, 74.70 per cent in 2021 and 75.20 per cent in 2024.
Demographics, based on available data, largely from the 2011 Census proportions adjusted for the area, show Scheduled Tribes forming the largest group (around 46-56 per cent in the broader district context, higher in rural pockets), with minimal Scheduled Castes and Muslims. The constituency features a mix of Karbi, the principal tribal community, other indigenous groups like Dimasa, Bodo, and smaller tribes, alongside non-tribal settlers in town areas linked to industry and trade, contributing to its tribal-majority rural electorate.
The Bokajan constituency covers parts of the Karbi Anglong district in central Assam with hilly terrain, undulating plateaus, and some flat valleys as an extension of the Karbi plateau (part of the Meghalaya Plateau). The terrain supports jhum (shifting) cultivation, settled paddy farming in valleys, tea plantations in fringes, and forest-based activities, but is prone to occasional landslides and seasonal flooding from rivers like the Dhansiri that flows nearby, and its tributaries. Livelihoods in Bokajan depend mainly on agriculture (paddy, horticulture), tea garden work, employment in the cement factory, a major industrial unit by CCI, small trade, and forest resources. Fertile soils in valleys and abundant rainfall sustain these activities. Infrastructure includes road connectivity via national highways linking to nearby areas, rail access at Bokajan station, and basic amenities in the town, with ongoing developments in rural roads and tribal welfare schemes.
The nearest major town is Diphu, the district headquarters, about 40-65 km away. Other nearby towns include Hamren (West Karbi Anglong), farther west. The state capital, Dispur/Guwahati, lies around 200-250 km west. The constituency borders Nagaland to the east, with Dimapur just 15 km away, influencing local trade, cross-border interactions, and occasional migration patterns.
With the BJP winning the last two Assembly elections and leading in three consecutive Lok Sabha seats, history is on the BJP’s side. What is alarming to its opponents is that its popularity and acceptability are growing with each election, reflected in its widening margins. The Congress party has reposed faith in Raton Engti by naming him as its candidate once again for the 2026 elections, which appears to be a move taken more with hope than conviction that he would upstage the BJP and snatch the seat. While elections do tend to throw up some surprises, if that does not happen in Bokajan, the BJP might not have to break sweat to retain this seat in the 2026 Assembly elections.
(Ajay Jha)
