BJP sweeps Assam for a third consecutive term; CM calls it a ‘historic win’

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday secured an absolute majority and recorded a thumping victory in Assam, by winning and leading 82 of the total 126 seats, retaining power for a third consecutive term. Assam Chief Minister addresses media as the party leads in the vote counting for the Assam assembly elections. (Abdul Sajid/ANI)“This is a historic win because of the kind of majority that we are heading towards. I offer my sincerest thanks to the people of Assam on behalf of BJP and our allies and assure that the promises we have made to you will be fulfilled,” chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. He said the process of forming the next government will happen according to due process with the present one resigning and a new leader of the legislative party elected. “Our state president will discuss the formalities with the party high command following which we will stake claim to form the next government and decide on a date for swearing in,” Sarma said. According to results in the Election Commission of India (ECI) website (7pm), the BJP won in 69 seats of the 90 it contested and was leading in 13. Its allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) were winning and leading in ten seats each, taking the combined tally to 102 seats. The BJP on its own secured nearly 40% of the total votes while Congress stood at 29%. “The results were on expected lines and we hoped to secure over 90 seats. This time BJP has been able to secure an absolute majority on its own, but we will continue to remain with our NDA [National Democratic Alliance] allies like in the past,” BJP state president, Dilip Saikia said. “The outcome is a mixture of several factors including the policies of the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the able leadership of chief minister Sarma and various development projects and measures taken to secure the rights of the indigenous population,” he added. Also Read:Assam election results: NDA strong in Bodoland as BPF leads majority seats Congress contested this election as a unified opposition of six parties and won in 19 seats, ten lesser than the 29 seats it won in 2021. Raijor Dal, party’s ally bagged two seats, taking their combined tally to 21 seats. Sarma retained the Jalukbari seat for the sixth consecutive term, thrice each as a Congress and BJP candidate. Other prominent winners from BJP included ministers Pijush Hazarika (Jagiroad), Ranoj Pegu (Dhemaji), Chandra Mohan Patowary (Tihu), Ranjeet Kumar Dass (Bhawanipur-Sorbhog), Ajanta Neog (Golaghat), Jayanta Malla Baruah (Nalbari) and Bimal Borah (Tingkhong). Congress turncoats, former state unit chief Bhupen Kumar Borah and Pradyut Bordoloi, who joined the BJP just days ahead of the election also secured wins in Bihpuria and Dispur respectively. Winners from AGP include Atul Bora (Bokakhat) and Keshab Mahanta (Kaliabar) and from BPF are Sewli Mohilary (Kokrajhar) and Rihon Daimari (Udalguri). The biggest surprise was the loss of state presidents of several parties, including Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi (Jorhat), AJP’s Lurinjyoti Gogoi (Khowang) and United People’s Party Liberal chief Pramod Boro (Tamulpur). Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi retained the Sibsagar seat and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) president Badruddin Ajmal won the Binnakandi seat. Kaustubh Deka, professor of political science at Dibrugarh University said the BJP’s massive win is validation of the politics that the party plays by creating a large number of beneficiaries with different schemes and by fragmentation or polarisation by playing up identity politics highlighting the threat of illegal migrants. “With the party getting absolute majority, that particular type of politics is expected to continue and the Assam model of delimitation, could be followed in other BJP-ruled states,” Deka said. “It was a do or die kind of election for the Congress. But with the party failing to increase its tally from 2021 and losing out in key strongholds like Nazira and Titabar, it will be very difficult for the Congress to make a significant comeback from that point,” he added. One of the biggest losers in this election was the AIUDF, which managed to win just two seats in Dalgaon and Binnakandi. This is the party’s lowest tally in the past five elections since its formation in 2005. In 2021, it won 16 seats. “It’s bad news for AIUDF as the party’s main support base, Bengali-speaking Muslims with origins in Bangladesh, seems to have shifted away. The fact that the party is viewed by many as a subsidiary of the BJP could have also played a part in the outcome this time. AIUDF’s loss is Congress’s gain,” said Deka. Another significant loser was United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL), which failed to win any seat. The party, which was part of the ruling coalition, had won 6 seats in 2021, but had contested this election alone. Trinamool Congress (TMC) is expected to win one seat this time with its candidate, Sherman Ali Ahmed, a former Congress MLA, leading in the Mandia constituency. The delimitation exercise carried out in 2023 that redrew assembly seats in the state could also be a factor in BJP’s record breaking win, Congress’s failure and AIUDF’s dismal show. “The cutting down of Muslim majority seats in Assam through calculative delimitation has significantly reduced the vote-bank politics associated with the community this time,” said Deka. “As part of the delimitation exercise, Muslim-dominated seats had been clubbed with other seats or completely redrawn to make the votes of that community insignificant in the outcome. The number of Muslim-dominated seats in Assam were reduced from 35 to 22 following the delimitation exercise,” he added. The saffron party had first come to power in Assam in 2016, ending a 15-year Congress rule. In the past two assembly elections, the BJP secured 60 seats (in both 2016 and 2021), four fewer than the majority figure, and formed governments with the support of its regional NDA allies. Utpal is a Senior Assistant Editor based in Guwahati. He covers seven states of North-East India and heads the editorial team for the region. He was previously based in Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi with Hindustan Times.Read More