Jayashree: Return to roots

Dhubri, April 9: Guess who Jayashree Goswami-Mahanta’s constant companion is these days? Dale Carnegie, and his bestseller, How to Win Friends and Influence People.

The former Rajya Sabha member, who is married to Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, has read the book before, but is reading it again, highlighting the more relevant paragraphs with a marker.

Jayashree was expelled from the AGP when she decided to contest the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat as an Independent candidate. It was a big blow to her, coming as it did from a party with which she was associated since its inception in 1985. This unlikely stormy petrel of Assam politics is now out to prove that she can hold her own in the male-dominated political landscape.

Jayashree, a Rajya Sabha member from 1999 to 2001, is among the very few women in the electoral fray. Actually, Dhubri is the only constituency of Assam where two women are competing.

Jabeen Barbhuyan of the BJP is the second female candidate for the seat, but Jayashree’s main rivals in the April 20 poll are Afzalur Rahman of the AGP and Anowar Hussain of the Congress.

As she goes about campaigning, it is easy to notice Carnegie’s influence on Jayashree. She interacts with the people in the Goalporiya dialect, instantly endearing herself to them. It helps that she hails from Gauripur, which is in the same district.

“She is the daughter of the soil, one among us,” says an elderly lady after Jayashree seeks her blessings.

Her aides say it has been more of a homecoming for Jayashree than an election campaign. The former parliamentarian endorses that view. “I have returned to my roots.”

Ask her why she chose to revolt against the AGP leadership and Jayashree claims she is on a mission. “Regionalism and secularism are my two basic principles.

“The AGP lost its character and values after the induction of some leaders who once opposed the party. These new entrants are trying to cash in on the strength of regionalism. This is what I am opposed to.”

A vocal advocate of women’s rights, Jayashree says women should not be disappointed by what is happening around them because “good days are coming back”.

She believes women in Assam and the rest of the Northeast are “politically and economically lagging far behind”, though women enjoy equal social status with men.