Jorhat, Sept. 28: The BJP has decided to launch a massive rally in chief minister Tarun Gogoi's home turf - Titabar in Jorhat district - on Sunday, a rally which the party hopes will send the message that it is a "serious contender" for power in the 2016 Assembly elections in Assam.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, once the blue-eyed boy of Gogoi and now his bete noire, will blow the poll bugle for BJP in Titabar's public meeting, to be held at Guddu Cinema Hall ground.

The same day, the Congress too will hold a similar public rally at Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex in Titabar, to be attended by three cabinet ministers of the Gogoi government - Rakibul Hussain, Atuwa Munda and Ajanta Neog.

BJP insiders said a big rally in Titabar was "unthinkable" till recently but Sarma's "exit" from Congress and the overall turmoil in the ruling party have emboldened the BJP to hold the rally, a move which also reflects the party's growing confidence.

"After Titabar, the next BJP rally is planned for Samaguri (Nagaon district), represented by cabinet minister and Gogoi loyalist Rakibul Hussain where Sarma will be a key participant," a senior BJP leadersaid.

He said Sarma's presence will add "confidence and aggressiveness" in such rallies planned across Assam.

In power since 2001 under Gogoi, the Congress is facing a tough challenge from the BJP ahead of the 2016 polls.

The latter secured seven seats in the 2014 parliamentary elections.

The BJP's Assam unit secretary Santanu Puzari told The Telegraph that the party has decided to launch the poll battle by exposing the "misdeeds and failures" of the Congress government from the constituency represented by the person heading the government as it will send a "right message" to the people.

The BJP's Jorhat district unit president Kamakhya Mohan Das said Union minister of state Sarbananda Sonowal, state BJP president Siddhartha Bhattacharyya and Jorhat MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa would attend the rally.

The Congress, too, has taken up the cudgel against the BJP by staging statewide rallies against the Centre's non-implementation of Food Security Act, the move to withdraw postage stamps dedicated to former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and price rise.

In Guwahati, AICC general secretary in charge of Assam C.P. Joshi participated in the rally today.

In Tezpur, DCC president Madhurjya Goswami and Assam Youth Congress leader Hiranya Bhuyan led the rally where local MLA Rajen Borthakur, a close aide of Sarma, was conspicuous by his absence.

Additional reporting by Our Guwahati Bureau