Pramila Rani Brahma, 70, is not new to electoral battles. The legislator from Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) won from the Kokrajhar (East) assembly seat six consecutive times between 1991 to 2016 — as an independent candidate on first four occasions and later from the BPF.
But this time, the feisty leader known for voicing her opinions loud and clear, who also served as a minister both in the Congress cabinet of Tarun Gogoi and also in the present Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government of Sarbananda Sonowal, is facing a different battle in her home turf.
Brahma’s main opponent in this election is Lawrence Islary of United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), the 44-year-old former general secretary of the influential All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) who joined UPPL last month and is contesting election for the first time. As a student leader, Islary has had a long and successful run and is a known face in Kokrajhar. Despite being a greenhorn to electoral politics, he is expected to give a tough fight to Brahma.