Assam heavyweight rivals share tea ahead of elections. They were both student leaders

Lok Sabha Election: Sarbananda Sonowal is going up against Lurinjyoti Gogoi in Dibrugarh. (Images: @SarbanandaSonowal and @lurinjtgogoi/Facebook)

Erstwhile student leaders turned Lok Sabha election rivals Sarbananda Sonowal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Lurinjyoti Gogoi representing the INDIA bloc, were spotted sharing tea together on Sunday.

The two leaders were at the Haladhibari Naghar Than in Khowang seeking blessings from God, where they engaged in an unexpected display of camaraderie.

The encounter, which saw Sonowal and Gogoi exchanging handshakes and a conversation seated on a mattress, comes amidst a fiercely contested electoral battle for the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat, where Sonowal, a seasoned BJP stalwart and Union Minister, locks horns with Gogoi, the fiery leader of the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).

Both Sonowal and Gogoi were presidents of the influential All Assam Students Union (AASU) in their college days. While Sonowal spearheaded AASU's crusade against the contentious Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, Gogoi led the charge during the fervent anti-CAA protests of 2019.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dibrugarh 24x7 (@dibrugarh24x7)

In a statement to the press, Sonowal extended his well wishes to Gogoi. "I have given best wishes to Lurinjyoti Gogoi. It is a democracy, and we are here to strengthen it. It is a good thing in democracy," remarked Sonowal.

Responding to queries from reporters, Gogoi acknowledged their shared past within the AASU but highlighted the evolution of their respective political trajectories. "We were together in the AASU, and he was our senior. Now, our ideologies are different. We are against the CAA, and he supports it," stated Gogoi.

Sarbananda Sonowal is the former chief minister of Assam. Dibrugarh constituency is slated for polls on April 19 in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.