From Margherita to Rajya Sabha: Pabitra Gogoi all set to smile his way

Margherita to Rajya Sabha

Margherita to Rajya Sabha

Swaswati Borkataki

We are all familiar with stories of small-town lads making it big and being catapulted to positions of power and prestige, especially in India today, where the Prime Minister himself and most of the leaders in the states and center have risen from extremely humble backgrounds.

In Assam today, one name that has gathered huge attention is that of Pabitra Margherita. Hailing from the small town of Margherita in the Tinsukia district of Assam, Pabitra Gogoi Margherita started his career in Media, Television and Cinema from the young age of twenty four, when he worked as an editor of the monthly magazines, Maya and Sare-Ga-Ma (published by Bhabani Offset & Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd) which became very popular among the youth during the late 90s.

He thereafter produced a number of audio and video albums that showcased the folk culture of Assam mainly through Bihu songs, starting from the album, Jonbai. He worked wonders in the Cultural scenario of Assam and became a household name through his roles as an Anchor, Programme Designer, Creative Head, Judge in a number of Talent Hunt shows, and has also acted as an actor in one of the lead roles in the movie Monjai which was both critically acclaimed and was a commercial success. In the movie, Pabitra plays the character of Nayan, a simple, dedicated young boy hailing from a lower middle class family, struggling to get a job in spite of his merit. While the movie is an interesting depiction of the lives of four young people struggling for survival, his dialogue in the movie,“Moi Bhagi pora nai. Moi janu, mur u edin ahibo”, has actually been proven true. He strived on, with patience, perseverance and a million dollar smile.

Margherita joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014 and since then has served the party in various capacities. He has served as the Chairman of Jyoti Chitraban, as the Spokesperson of the BJP and also recently assumed responsibility as the Member Secretary of the State Level Advisory Committee for Student and Youth Welfare. He has been extremely static and unwavering with regard to issues of national concern and stood by his position. This is a reason that he was praised by all across party boundaries and beyond.

He was given the responsibility of the entire publicity, creativity and content generationfor the BJP in the General Elections of 2019 and Assembly elections of 2016 and 2021 in Assam was managed by Margherita along with his colleague, Mr. Kalita. In fact, the famous Election song for the BJP in Assam, Ako Ebar Modi Sarkar for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections was produced by Margherita, along with the 2016 Assembly election campaign song, Sokolute Ananda Sarbananda. In 2021, while the Congress hired a group from Chandigarh named ‘Design Boxed’, the BJP stuck with Margherita and his mastery in publicity and management. During the course of the campaign, he was made the Co-Convener of the party, the Convener being Dilip Saikia, MP from Mangaldoi.

One peculiarity of Margherita is that he is one person who is loved by all, across the party hierarchies, right from the youth leaders and Karyakartas belonging to all rungs of the party as well as veteran leaders of both the Sangh and the BJP, one reason probably being the fact that he never really demanded anything from the party, and dedicatedly worked his way to the position where he is in today. As he gears to be elected to the Rajya Sabha today, he inspires many, especially youth belonging to different socio-ethnic backgrounds with limited resources to dream big, stick to one’s vision and work with whole hearted dedication. With his characteristic patience, he also qualifies for the idea of the ‘Politics of Patience’.