New Delhi:
Tarun Gogoi is set for an unprecedented third term as Chief Minister of Assam. Today, voters gave his party, the Congress, 76 of the 126 seats in Assam - five more than what the party had in the last Assembly.
Anti-incumbency, says Mr Gogoi, cannot over-rule development."The secret is if you work sincerely, if you work hard for the people. they will repose faith in you...that's what has happened here."
But it's also his firm handling of underground groups like the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) that has convinced Assam that its chief minister is very much a man in charge. Mr Gogoi has shown a fine instinctual understanding of how to negotiate with these groups without capitulating to their agendas.
There's also the fact that the Opposition has done its best to make room for him. The two main parties- the Asam Gana Parishad (AGP) and the BJP failed to strike an alliance, splitting the vote of those who are not Congress-seekers