SILCHAR(Assam): A billionaire political family with three generations in parliamentary politics attracts everyone's attention. The electoral fate of three members of a southern Assam's famous "Roy Family" -- father, son and daughter-in-law -- would be decided in the second phase of the Assembly polling.
While six-consecutive time legislator and former Congress government's Revenue and Panchayat Minister Gautam Roy this time is contesting on a BJP ticket, his son Rahul and daughter-in-law Daisy, a newcomer, are contesting against the candidates of the ruling party.
The senior Roy is contesting from Katigora and Rahul from Udharbond, both in Cachar district district, Daisy is fighting from the Algapur constituency in the neighbouring Hailakandi district.
The senior and junior Roys, both as Congress nominees lost the 2016 Assembly polls, have this time changed their old constituencies –- Katlichera and Algapur –-respectively.
According to the affidavits, submitted to the Election Commission, the value of the movable and immovable assets of the three candidates, all doing various business, has been estimated to be at Rs 142.57 crore.
The 72-year-old senior Roy's wife Mandira on Congress ticket won the Algapur seat in 2013 by-elections, while his late father Santosh Kumar Roy had once represented the Katlichera constituency from 1972.
The businessman turned veteran politician has represented the Katlichera seat in six terms since 1985 and was a four-term minister in the erstwhile Congress government. He lost to AIUDF's (All India United Democratic Front) Suzam Uddin Laskar in the last elections in 2016.
Roy joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019 after the Congress suspended him for "anti-party activities".
Gautam Roy's son Rahul, 46 won the Algapur seat in 2006 on a Congress ticket, but lost the seat in 2011 and 2016 to Asom Gana Parishad and AIUDF respectively.
Supporting the BJP government's new Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Rahul quit the Congress in 2019. This time he allotted the Algapur seat to his wife Daisy (46) and he is contesting from Udharbond.
The business oriented couple are contesting as Independent candidates this time.
When asked about his son and daughter-in-law, a confident senior Roy, said: "Both are matured and dynamic. They are successfully doing their businesses. Contesting the elections was their own decision, I have nothing to say."
"I have no political connection with my son and daughter-in-law hence, I have nothing to say about their electoral fate and prospect, " the former minister said.
There are 15 vital constituencies in southern Assam's Barak Valley region, comprising three districts -- Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakhandhi -- mostly dominated by Bengali-speaking people. In 2016, the BJP had bagged eight of these, the AIUDF four and Congress three.
The opposition Congress also fielded sons and daughters of prominent politicians in the ongoing Assembly polls.
The Congress has given ticket to Asima Bordoloi in East Guwahati seat. She is the granddaughter of Bharat Ratna and first Chief Minister of Assam Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi.
The Congress has also fielded Diganta Barman, son of former Chief Minister Bhumidhar Barman at Barkhetri, Debabrata Saikia, son of former Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia at Nazira Assembly seat and Angkita Dutta, daughter of former state Party President Anjan Dutta at Amguri seat.