As Assam goes to single-phase polling today on April 9, 2026, nearly 2.49 crore registered voters, including 5.75 lakh young and first-time voters, will exercise their franchise to elect 126 representatives for the State Legislative Assembly. Under the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI), all types of campaigning had already come to a halt at 5 pm on Tuesday, 48 hours prior to voting, where the authority urged all candidates, political parties, and media outlets to strictly follow the guidelines. The same timeline is applicable for Kerala and Puducherry as well, whereas Tamil Nadu will vote on April 23, and West Bengal will go to polls on April 23 and 29.
Amid high-powered poll campaigning, the electorate will seemingly find reasons to vote in favour of safety, security, sustainable development, and unbiased welfare initiatives — either by reinstating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Dispur or by handing power to the Indian National Congress-led opposition alliance.
Aggressive campaigning by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the responsive approach from opposition leaders, including the President of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) Gaurav Gogoi, may put voters in a state of bewilderment while selecting their legislators. The outcome of this contest for a change in regime will be reflected on the May 4 counting day.
The BJP unveiled its manifesto with a number of important promises to counter a decade-long, two-term anti-incumbency wave. The party’s 31-point “Sankalpa Patra“, released by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Guwahati, proposes continuous economic activity blended with welfare assurances.
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Moreover, the saffron party did not forget to exploit the inherent anxiety of mainstream Assamese people by ensuring safeguards against illegal migrants, particularly those of Bangladeshi origin. It also highlighted the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, which was invoked by the Assam government to deal with the massive illegal Bangladeshi immigration issue in recent days, even though this central act could not prevent the historic anti-foreigner agitation of 1979 to 1985 or the updation of the National Register of Citizens from 2013 to 2019 in Assam.
Assuring that all signed peace accords will be implemented on time, the nationalist party promised to bring the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) into action and also formulate stringent laws to deal with contentious issues like love-jihad and land-jihad. It highlighted continued efforts to address child marriages and polygamy practices as part of its social reform agenda.
As usual, the party took pride in mentioning the creation of over 1.6 lakh government jobs in the last five years, where the selection process was described as transparent, and guaranteed its mission to offer two lakh jobs to eligible candidates in the next five years.
Tea plantation workers were provided with land settlement papers along with other benefits in the gracious presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Guwahati. PM Modi also addressed election rallies in other parts of Assam, canvassing for candidates belonging to the ruling alliance.
Very recently, the state government transferred Rs 3,600 crore to 40 lakh women beneficiaries under the Orunodoi scheme, where each beneficiary received cumulative four months’ instalments at Rs 1,250 per month along with Rs 4,000 as a Bohag Bihu bonus. According to the Chief Minister, nearly Rs 17,000 crore has already been transferred to the monthly Orunodoi recipients.
On the other hand, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra released a people’s charge-sheet against the government, alleging widespread corruption against many leaders in power, including CM Sarma, as well as the government’s failure to accomplish many of its electoral promises.
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Later, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in the presence of APCC president Gogoi and others, released the party’s people’s manifesto in Assam. The party also promised Scheduled Tribe status for Chutias, Koch Rajbongshis, Adivasis (Tea Tribes), Mataks, Morans, and Tai Ahoms. It further stated that due action would be taken against CM Sarma after investigating his alleged financial scams.
The oldest party of India, however, invited wrath from a large section of the population for bringing up the issue of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg in its electoral promises. The Congress promised to facilitate justice for Zubeen, who died under mysterious circumstances in Singapore on September 19 last year, within 100 days if voted to power.
Zubeen’s widow Garima Saikia Garg and close relatives have already appealed to all political parties not to politicise his untimely death and the subsequent legal proceedings, which are currently ongoing in a local court, for electoral gains.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Pawan Khera made a sensational allegation against the Chief Minister’s wife over her possession of multiple passports and alleged million-dollar foreign investments. The charge was met with strong resentment from Sarma, and his wife has since filed a court case in response.
The opposition alliance, comprising Asom Jatiya Parishad, Raijor Dal, and others, has been planning to convert anti-incumbency sentiment against the BJP-led government into votes on the electronic voting machines.
However, in some constituencies like Jalukbari — where CM Sarma has continued to win since the 2001 assembly polls, even after changing his political affiliation from Congress to BJP in 2015 — that anti-incumbency sentiment is yet to be clearly visible. Congress, in particular, may also attempt to consolidate the religious minority vote in western and southern Assam, even though the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) will pose serious challenges in some constituencies.
Congress currently has only 26 MLAs in the assembly, followed by the AIUDF with 15, the CPI(M) with one, and one Independent on the opposition benches. The ruling alliance comprises 64 BJP legislators, nine Asom Gana Parishad members, seven United People’s Party Liberal representatives, and three Bodoland People’s Front legislators.
Days before the election, former State Congress president Bhupen Bora and sitting parliamentarian Pradyut Bordoloi joined the saffron brigade and were offered BJP tickets. Bordoloi may, however, face a tough electoral challenge in the Dispur constituency from a ticket-denied party leader. Jayanta Kumar Das, a native of the locality, has already resigned from the BJP and filed his nomination as an independent candidate.
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Any significant vote gain by the party defector Das could seriously damage Bordoloi’s electoral prospects. Bordoloi was once a trusted aide to former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
On the other hand, cabinet minister Nandita Garlosa, who did not receive a party ticket, left the BJP to join the Congress and filed her candidature from the Haflong constituency.
The Jorhat Assembly Constituency is witnessing a keenly contested campaign primarily between BJP legislator Hitendra Nath Goswami and Congress parliamentarian Gogoi, who is also the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
The son of former Congress Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi recently made a pointed remark that the present Assam BJP is largely managed by former Congress leaders, and that veteran saffron leaders have consequently lost much of their grip within the party.
RTI activist-turned-legislator Akhil Gogoi, who now leads Raijor Dal, is contesting against BJP’s Kushal Dowari in the Sibsagar constituency, where the ruling party’s ally AGP has also fielded Pradip Hazarika.
Recently, the Uttar Asom Pranta of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh formally lodged a police complaint against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over controversial remarks made at an election rally in the Barak valley, in which Kharge compared the ideology of the RSS and BJP to a poisonous snake and called for its elimination.
As cited in the complaint, Kharge stated: “If a poisonous snake is moving in front of you while you are offering Namaz, you must stop the prayer and rush to kill the poisonous snake first — that is what the Quran prescribes you to do. I tell you that the RSS and BJP are similar to such a poisonous snake; if you do not eliminate it, you may not survive.”
Expressing serious concern over the inflammatory nature of these remarks and their capacity to incite hostility, intimidation, and violence, the complaint stated: “Describing the ideology of RSS and BJP as poisonous and allegedly calling for their elimination could be interpreted as encouraging bodily harm against members and supporters of these organisations.”
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The FIR further stated that “the remarks attempt to promote communal division between Hindu and Muslim communities, potentially disturbing public peace and harmony in Assam and influencing the electoral environment.” The complaints warn that such statements may lead to communal tensions or clashes if not addressed promptly by the authorities. The RSS also urged everyone to ensure hundred percent polling and appealed to voters to exercise their franchise with the aim of safeguarding the interest of Bharat.
Recently, a group of over 200 prominent Assamese individuals urged the electorate to cast their votes with the region’s security, culture, and development in mind. The group, under the initiative of Assam’s socio-cultural organisation Pragya, issued a statement highlighting the need to protect the identity, culture, and security of the indigenous people.
The appeal, endorsed by prominent citizens including Satradhikars, religious Gurus, vice-chancellors, professors, lawyers, artists, and writers, expressed serious concern over the rapid demographic changes taking place in Assam.
They urged voters to elect only those candidates who maintain a clear commitment to protecting native families. They also emphasised the conservation of natural resources and wildlife, as well as the implementation of strict policies against drug addiction.
(Nava Thakuria is a senior Indian journalist who contributes to various media outlets including print and digital platforms of India and across the world.)