Mudslinging and verbal attacks will definitely surge once the poll dates are announced, but as with any state, there are some crucial issues which will play a significant role in influencing voters in Assam too, says Devanik Saha.
Assam witnessed violent protests against the Citizenship Act since December 11.
Shah said for the first time in India's history, Modi prioritised security, peace and development in the northeast and as a result of it, the region is now rapidly heading on the path of peace and development.
The BJP parliamentary board made the decision in an hour-long meeting attended among others by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah.
With over 7,000 panic-stricken Northeast-origin people arriving in Guwahati from Southern states through five special trains so far, the All Assam Students Union on Sunday called upon the state governments of the region and the government to persuade them to go back to their workplace and education institutions out there with assured of security for their safety.
The 12-hour Assam bandh called by the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) on Tuesday turned violent with government officials and mediapersons attacked leading to imposition of indefinite curfew in some areas.
The party is less forthcoming about who the chief minister will be if it stays in power.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu shelled out Rs 60,000 from his own pocket for the evacuation of five local students stuck in violence-hit Manipur, an official spokesperson of the government said on Monday.
Neeraj Das alias 'Kola Lora', the prime accused in the AASU leader lynching case, died on Wednesday after being hit by a police vehicle "as he was trying to escape police custody", a senior officer said.
The agitators belonging to 70 organisations, led by KMSS and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, gathered at the secretariat to protest against the passing of the bill in the Lower House of Parliament.
As the police said they have a list of 8,000 accused and the drive will continue, women protested against the move in various districts saying they will face problems without livelihoods.
The Indian government has scrapped the 'no-detention policy' for classes 5 and 8 in schools it governs. This means that students in these classes who do not pass the year-end exams will be allowed to fail. The decision comes after the amendment to the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019, which has already led to 18 states and union territories doing away with the 'no-detention policy' for the two classes. The new policy will be implemented in over 3,000 schools run by the central government, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navaodyala Vidyalayas, and Sainik Schools.
Referring to section 6A of the Citizenship Act applicable exclusively to Assam, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said governments have to make compromises for the overall well-being of the nation.
The party has forged ties with Bodo People's Front; continues talks with AGP.
Frequently under attack from various elements while discharging their duty in the troubled state, Assam journalists have called upon the government and all the political parties to take steps to enact a special law for protection of media persons on duty. It was decided at a meeting of various journalists unions at the Guwahati Press Club.
West Bengal had witnessed violence and arson from December 13 to 17 during protests against the new citizenship law.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said earlier that the Yatra would not be allowed to enter Guwahati in order to avoid traffic jams.
After the 18-member 'Assam Advisory Committee' suggested the two organisations to form a political party, a source close to the development said the new outfit will be launched within the next 10 days.
At least 13 people, including the prime accused, have been arrested so far for allegedly lynching an All Assam Students' Union leader in Jorhat city, while the outfit on Tuesday vowed not to keep quiet until the culprits were given 'exemplary punishment.'
The death toll in firing and arson along the Assam-Nagaland border by alleged miscreants from Nagaland has increased to 11 with the recovery of nine more bodies from the disturbed Uriamghat area of Assam on Friday even as night curfew continued.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved conferring the status of classical language on Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.
Sonowal, a law graduate, is considered to be a rarity -- an honest politician who also worked to unite different communities with his oft-repeated lines 'Barak-Brahmaputra-plains-hills'.
Representatives from Kuki-Zo communities said their demands have crossed the point where they wanted President's rule to be imposed in the state, and now they see a Union Territory with legislature on the lines of Puducherry carved out of Manipur as the only solution to the ongoing strife.
A Central Reserve Police Force jawan on Friday shot dead his officer and a member of the All Assam Students' Union and injured four colleagues when they were out on an operational task in Nalbari district of Assam.
The Assam cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below 14 years in the state under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to enrol Rohingya refugee children in local schools, saying it was the Centre's domain.
The 12-hour Assam bandh called by the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) on Tuesday turned violent with government officials and mediapersons attacked leading to imposition of indefinite curfew in some areas.
The Kuki-Zo Council called for a 13-hour shutdown in Manipur's hill areas on Tuesday, demanding an investigation into the death of 11 people in a clash with security forces in Jiribam. The shutdown, which began at 5 am, saw schools, markets, and public transport remain closed. Various Kuki-Zo organizations, including the Kuki Students' Organisation, the Zomi Students' Federation, and the Hmar Students' Association, demanded a probe into the incident, accusing the Central Reserve Police Force of "treacherous murder." The Hmar Village Volunteers, who were identified by the Kuki-Zo groups as the victims, condemned the incident and called for intervention from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The visit of a high-level delegation of revenue officials from Bangladesh to India-Bangladesh border areas in Dhubri sector in western Assam has triggered sharp protests by political and non-political groups in Assam.
The Cupid-struck should better watch out while celebrating Valentine's Day in Assam on Saturday, as volunteers of 'Asom Sena', the moral police wing of All Assam Students' Union is going to keep a close watch on them. "We are not opposed to the celebration of Valentine's Day but will certainly keep a watch so that nothing immoral and vulgar is indulged in by those out on a celebration mood on the day in the state," an official of the Asom Sena said.
'People feel concerned about the future, whether it is the land or the jobs.' 'The BJP came to power in Assam with promises of maati, bheti (home, hearth and identity), land, jobs and culture.' 'Are these going to taken care of? I think those are real concerns.' 'The Assam chief minister (Sarbananda Sonowal) was one of the leaders of the All Assam Students Union which fought for and is one of the signatories to the Assam Accord.' 'Today, his comrade-in-arms (Samujjal Bhattacharya, chief advisor, AASU) is leading the opposition in the streets.'
With fuel prices not showing any signs of slowing down, the Congress's National Students Union of India and the CPI-M's Students Federation of India staged unusual protests in Nagaon, Assam.
Bodos, the largest tribe ethnic to Assam, on Saturday hold a massive rally at North Assam tea town Dekiajuli reviving their long-standing demand for a separate Bodoland state and warned that in case the United Progressive Alliance government gave consent to Telangana statehood, Bodoland must also be created.
The AFSPA is in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal Council Area), Changlang, Longding and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and areas falling within the jurisdiction of eight police stations of districts in Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam.
The All Asom Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union activists stopped the bus, which was traveling from Cooch Behar in West Bengal to Assam's North Lakhimpur, on National Highway 31 near Golakganj late on Friday. The activists pelted stones at the private bus, hurled two petrol bombs and locked the doors of the burning vehicle with the passengers inside, Mahanta said. The injured said they broke the front windshield and window panes to get out of the burning bus.
Several organisations, including the All Assam Tai Ahom Students Union, the Hindu Yuva Chatra Parished and the All Assam Motok Yuva Chatra Sanmilani have opposed today's day-long bandh.\n
AAKRSU supporters claimed the violence was triggered by a conspiracy hatched by people opposed to a separate Kamtapur state.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said racism should be condemned "unequivocally" after a contestant from Guwahati on a dance reality show was subjected to racist rhetoric.
'They know everyone and have everyone's horoscope. If they feel Himanta Biswa Sarma is the right man for Assam, they will give it to me, if they feel Sarbananda Sonowal is the right man, they will give it to him, or if they feel both of them are not good, let's bring another person'