In its list of 26 candidates for Thursday's assembly elections, 13 are from the Bengali-speaking Muslim community -- a demographic that was at the centre of the original Assam agitation.
Veteran BJP leader Hitendra Nath Goswami defeated Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi in Jorhat, securing his sixth term in the assembly. Goswami's grassroots campaign and extensive experience led to his victory.
Himanta Biswa Sarma has been elected as the leader of the BJP-led NDA in the Assam assembly, paving the way for his second consecutive term as chief minister. The NDA secured a two-thirds majority in the recent assembly polls, with the BJP winning 82 seats and its allies AGP and BPF securing 10 seats each.
Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora of the AGP has won the Bokakhat assembly constituency for a third consecutive term, defeating Raijor Dal's Hari Prasad Saikia by a significant margin.
BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Assam, marking the NDA's third consecutive government in the state. Sarma's swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for May 12, with key political figures expected to attend.
In the Opposition camp, the Congress, which contested 99 seats, won 19 constituencies, while the Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal secured two seats each, and the Trinamool Congress bagged one constituency.
The BJP is currently leading in eight out of the 13 seats in Assam's Barak Valley, while the Congress is ahead in the remaining five constituencies, according to the latest Election Commission data.
The delimitation of constituencies, which aimed to reduce the influence of minority candidates, is a significant factor in the NDA's strong performance in the Assam elections, where they secured a record 102 seats. The 2023 delimitation exercise redrew constituencies, reserving some Muslim-majority seats for indigenous communities, which increased the BJP and its allies' seat count.
The newly elected BJP-led NDA government in Assam will be sworn in on May 12, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries expected to attend. Preparations are underway to ensure a smooth and secure ceremony.
'The BJP's tally may dip, but the NDA is likely to retain power.'
Assam is set to hold elections for its 126-member assembly, with a direct contest expected between the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led opposition. Key candidates and constituencies are in focus as the state prepares to vote.
Voting has commenced for the Assembly elections in Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry, with millions of voters deciding the fate of numerous candidates across various constituencies. The elections are crucial for determining the future governance and political landscape of these regions.
Counting of votes begins in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and West Bengal, with significant implications for regional and national parties.
The outcome of the assembly elections will not only determine AIUDF's immediate relevance but could also shape its long-term role in Assam's political landscape.
The Assam government on Tuesday distributed the report of the Tewary Commission, which had probed into the 1983 Nellie massacre during which over 2,000 people were killed, and large-scale violence that year, in the Assembly on first day of Winter Session.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claims that 'Miyas' vote unitedly, leading to their political advancement, while the votes of 'our people' are scattered. He also asserted the need to maintain pressure on illegal settlers in Lower Assam.
Hazarika, a former minister, said that he resigned from all posts in the AGP, including that of the general secretary.
The Asom Gana Parishad's fears relating to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill are not misplaced. But does the party still matter in Assam's politics?
Accusing the BJP of adopting an anti-Assam policy, Mahanta said, "Let the BJP form a new government alone. We will welcome that".
The AGP had pulled out of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government a day before the bill seeking to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan was passed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The AGP, an ally of the BJP, voted for the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha, after Amit Shah's assurance. However, the scale, intensity and, persistence of the anti-CAA protests since then have taken it by surprise.
The defeat of their leaders has stunned party workers of the Asom Gana Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party to silence.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was on Wednesday slapped with a legal notice by Asom Gana Parishad's youth wing, giving him 15 days to apologise for his purported remarks that the party came to power for a second term in Assam with the support of insurgents.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was on Wednesday slapped with a legal notice by Asom Gana Parishad's youth wing, giving him 15 days to apologise for his purported remarks that the party came to power for a second term in Assam with the support of insurgents.
Strongly reacting to All India Congress Committee vice president Rahul Gandhi's purported remarks that Asom Gana Parishad was in power for a term allegedly with the backing of insurgents, the Asom Gana Parishad on Friday said it would initiate legal action him.
Given the depleting mass base of the regional Asom Gana Parishad led by former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, a section of senior leaders of the party are waiting in the wings to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is gaining ground in Assam.
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
The Asom Gana Parishad on Monday announced the names of its candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls and vowed to give a tough challenge to the ruling Congress in the state.Announcing the name of the party candidates, AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary said, "An united AGP armed with a seat sharing arrangement with the Bharatiya Janata Party will form a formidable force against the Congress, which is already jittery over our tie up with the BJP."
Soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party declared on Thursday that Asom Gana Parishad has joined the National Democratic Alliance and announced a seat-sharing pact between them in Assam, the regional party's chief denied joining the alliance saying the relationship is confined to sharing of seats only.
Taking responsibility of his party's debacle in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Asom Gana Parishad leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Monday stepped down as party president.
The ULFA anti-talks faction triggered a blast at Assam Pradesh Congres Committee headquarter on March 14 in which three Congress leaders were injured. But Gogoi on Friday tried to make light of the ULFA threat saying that the threat had been there since a long time.
The Congress, which won assembly elections with a thumping majority to retain power in Assam, would not have even got a simple majority had the Asom Gana Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party cobbled up a pre-poll alliance. As per the election statistics, the Congress would have been defeated in at least 20 seats had the AGP and the BJP joined hands in fighting the polls in the north-eastern state.
Asom Gana Parishad President and former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Wednesday kept open his party's option of joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party for Lok Sabha polls, saying a decision will be taken soon.
Here are the number of seats won by parties in all states and Union Territories in the Lok Sabha elections.
The AGP, which has ruled the state on its own twice, will play the junior partner and contest 24 seats while the rest 126 will be divided among BJP and three smaller outfits, with the saffron party leading the alliance.
The juggernaut of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress registered a six-on-six clean sweep.
Noisy scenes prevailed in Assam assembly on Tuesday with opposition MLAs belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Asom Gana Parishad staging walk-out after the speaker rejected their demand for an adjournment motion to facilitate discussion on the deteriorating' law and order situation in Assam.
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