Phani Bhusan

1. Phani Bhusan Choudhury, Assam’s longest-serving MLA, won the Lok Sabha elections from the Barpeta constituency.
2. He is a member of the ruling alliance and represents the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).
3. Choudhury has served as an MLA from the Bongaigaon legislative constituency since 1985, with eight consecutive terms.


Guwahati, June 05: Phani Bhusan Choudhury, Assam’s longest-serving MLA, has won the Lok Sabha elections from the Barpeta constituency as a member of the ruling alliance.

Representing the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Choudhury has been an MLA from the Bongaigaon legislative constituency in the Assam Assembly since 1985, serving eight consecutive terms.

This victory marks his first successful bid for the Lok Sabha, following an unsuccessful attempt in 2014 when AGP had no alliance and he finished fourth in Barpeta.

In the recent election, Choudhury secured 8,60,113 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Congress’s Deep Bayan, who received 6,37,762 votes.

Choudhury won by a margin of 2,22,351 votes. The Barpeta constituency has undergone significant demographic changes, becoming a Hindu majority seat from previously being Muslim-dominated after a delimitation exercise last year.


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Before the voting on May 7, Choudhury mentioned that the increase in Hindu voters after delimitation would likely aid his victory.

Barpeta, a religiously and linguistically sensitive constituency, has about 19.8 lakh voters, with over 12 lakh Hindus and around seven lakh Muslims.

This demographic shift led Congress to nominate Deep Bayan, the state Seva Dal chief, over the sitting MP Abdul Khaleque.

Choudhury, a 72-year-old politician known for his simple lifestyle and clean image, held several portfolios during the second AGP government (1996-2001) and the first BJP government (2016-2021).

Despite AGP being a part of the current BJP-led government in Assam with two ministers, Choudhury has not been offered a ministerial position this time.

In January 2019, after AGP broke ties with BJP over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Choudhury was seen crying upon his return to Bongaigaon from Guwahati, an image that went viral.

However, AGP rejoined the NDA alliance within two months and contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Assam in partnership with the BJP.