Journalists are holding a silent protest to punish those who killed Kamal Saikia and other journalists in Assam. File | Photo credit: PTI
Journalists are rarely the main actors in polling drama. Assam’s 2026 mandate brought one of them, killed 35 years ago, to the fore.
The electoral fate of several former journalists will be decided on April 9, including Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who are contesting from Bhowanipur-Sorbhog, and former MP Abdul Khaleque, the Congress candidate from Mandia.
However, no one has attracted as much attention as Kamala Saikia, a teacher-journalist from Sivasagar. He was killed in August 1991 by the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), four years after the group murdered journalist Punarmal Agarawala in Kampur.
Saikia was dragged out of his residence in Sivasagar’s Melachakar area and killed for allegedly writing against the ULFA. His body with his fingers cut off was dumped near the Amguri police station.
Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, who was fighting to retain the Sibsagar seat, has repeatedly accused his BJP rival Kushal Duwari of involvement in Saikia’s killing, citing his past as ULFA area commander.
“Everyone in Sivasagar knows that he killed Kamal Saikia. He also killed many others, including Bijit Dutta, whose eyes were gouged out. I appeal to the people of Sivasagar to save the constituency from the killer,” Mr. Gogoi said.
“Can anyone go to an elected murderer with a plea? You are likely to be shot. You must not vote for me, but for God’s sake, don’t vote for a murderer,” he said during one of his campaign rallies.
Mr. Duwari, a former MLA who represented the delimitation-engulfed Thowra constituency, denied killing Saikia. “ULFA has admitted to killing him and there were many members of the group at that time. How could Kushal Duwari kill him? He was not my enemy,” he said.
The BJP candidate criticized Mr. Gogoi for tarnishing his image.
State BJP spokesperson and advocate Jayanta Kumar Goswami defended Mr. Duwari, who was sentenced to two years in jail with another ULFA member-turned-MLA, Jiten Gogoi, for illegal fishing in Kaziranga National Park in 2009.
“An analysis of Mr. Duwari’s affidavit shows that he has four cases against him and all of them were based on suspicion. On the other hand, Akhil Gogoi has 21 cases against him in 11 pages and some of them are serious,” he said.
Mr. Duwari’s candidacy was marred by last-minute drama. The BJP fielded him minutes before the deadline for filing nominations, though the party agreed to give the seat to its ally Asom Gana Parishad, which had already nominated veteran Prodip Hazarik.
Mr Duwari and Mr Hazarika, who won the 2021 polls in the now defunct Amguri constituency, are locked in a “friendly fight” with Mr Gogoi as their common opponent. Aam Aadmi Party’s Tapan Gogoi and four independents are also in the fray.
Mr. Duwari is one of at least four former ULFA leaders who are contesting the April 9 elections. The others are BJP legislators Bhaskar Sharma (Margherita) and Mrinal Saikia and Naba Kumar Sarania (Gana Suraksha Party, Bijni).
Published – 05 Apr 2026 22:04 IST
