Akhil Gogoi has built his political identity not inside party offices, but on the streets of Assam. Long before entering electoral politics, he was known as an RTI activist and a farmer leader, raising issues of corruption, land rights and governance.
He founded the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, which gave him a strong connect with farmers and rural communities, especially in Upper Assam. His shift to formal politics came in 2020, when he launched his own party, the Raijor Dal, during the peak of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Gogoi became one of the most visible faces of the anti-CAA movement in the state. He was arrested in December 2019 and spent nearly two years in jail before being cleared of charges. In 2021, he turned that phase into a political milestone -- winning the Sivasagar Assembly seat while still in prison, an unusual victory that drew national attention.
Since entering the Assembly, Gogoi has continued to focus on issues he built his politics around — land, identity and local governance. His style remains rooted in protest politics, with a strong emphasis on direct engagement.
Now contesting again from Sivasagar in the 2026 elections, Gogoi represents a different kind of political journey. He is not a product of traditional party structures, but of movements, and that continues to define both his support base and his politics.
A second post-mortem for singer Zubin Garg will be conducted in Guwahati on Tuesday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced.
People queued up at polling booths in Assam as voting began for the first phase of Assam assembly election in which 47 constituencies will be deciding the fates of 264 candidates. Voting for the first phase of polling in Assam began at 7 am on Saturday morning. A total of 81.09 lakh voters will exercise their franchise in 11,537 polling stations to choose among 264 candidates in 47 assembly constituencies across 11 districts of Upper Assam, Northern Assam and some parts of central Assam’s Nagaon district. Voting in the first phase of polling on Saturday will decide the fates of Assam Chief Minister Sabananda Sonowal, six Cabinet ministers Ranjit Dutta, Naba Doley, Jogen Mahan, Sanjay Kishan, AGP president Atul Bora, Keshab Mahanta, jailed peasants’ rights activist Akhil Gogoi, former general secretary of AASU and present president of AJP Lurinjyoti Gogoi, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora and AICC secretary Bhupen Kumar Borah.
