As Assam heads to the polls in a single phase on April 9, the state is locked in a high-stakes battle. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4. Before the election, Congress, in an attempt to capitalize on anti-incumbency, promised five key guarantees in its party’s manifesto, including cash transfers to women, health insurance, and land rights if voted to power.
Meanwhile, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has won Assembly elections in Assam for two consecutive terms since 2016, has promised to protect the land, heritage and dignity of indigenous people. $5 lakh crore investment in infrastructure in its statement.
Of the 126 constituencies in the state, there are a few that are considered decisive in the polls and as a result will witness major high-profile contests. These are:
Jalukbari
Jalukbari circle in Kamrup district, which falls within The Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency has been represented by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma since 2001. The Assam Chief Minister is seeking to retain the seat for a sixth consecutive term in the assembly polls.
The constituency will pit Congress’s Bidisha Neog and independent candidate Dipika Das against Sarma in the constituency, which has long been seen as a BJP stronghold, partly due to the Assam CM’s 25-year dominance.
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With over 2.1 lakh voters and a semi-urban demographic, the constituency represents continuity and change, making it vital for the upcoming elections. Sarma’s influence in the seat is highlighted by his winning margin of over a lakh votes in the constituency in 2021. In the 2021 Assam Assembly elections, Sarma won the seat by 1,30,762 votes, securing 78.4 per cent of the total votes.
Jorhat
Jorhat also emerged as one of the primary focal points in Assam’s political battlefield, becoming the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president. Gaurav Gogoi is in direct competition with incumbent BJP MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami for the seat.
The electoral dynamics in this state are influenced by the tea garden communities, where Ahom Hindus and Assamese-speaking voters constitute a major portion of the electorate.
Gogoi, the Lok Sabha MP from Jorhat, is the son of the former prime minister Tarun Gogoi. His contest for the seat has raised the stakes significantly, as the Indian National Congress looks to end the decade-long BJP government in the state. Jorhat, once a prominent colonial and administrative center during British rule, is now widely recognized as the “tea capital” of Assam, news agency ANI reported.
Goswami has held the seat since 2016 after earlier representing it as a member of the House Asom Gana Parishad. While his popular support makes him a formidable contender, Gogoi’s decision to enter the fray has made him a close contender with no clear frontrunner.
Dispor
The constituency, the capital of Assam and the main locality within the Guwahati urban region, will witness a direct contest between “rebels” and “renegades”, according to ANI. The constituency will witness a battle between a former Congress leader now contesting for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and a former BJP loyalist now fighting as a rebel independent candidate.
BJP candidate Pradyut Bordoloi, former Congress leader, will face a challenge from former BJP veteran Jayant Kumar Das. Although Bordoloi is a new member of the BJP, the party has given him a ticket due to his administrative experience and community support. Das, who was recently expelled from the BJP for six years, is contesting as an independent candidate after resigning from the party.
The constituency has a population of 327,750 and was once a Congress stronghold. However, the seat, along with power in Assam, shifted to the BJP a decade ago. Atul Bora won the constituency in 2016 by a decisive margin of over 1.3 lakh votes, and retained the seat in 2021. However, the incumbent MLA was dropped this year, and Bordoloi participated after defecting to the BJP.
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Huang
Khwang, another important constituency in the tea belt, is where a high-stakes battle for dominance of the political scene in upper Assam will take place. The rural seat, which is usually complementary to the larger Assam rule, will witness an election battle between BJP president Chakradhar Gogoi and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi. While Chakradhar is a two-term incumbent, Lurinjyoti’s RJD is part of the opposition alliance in the state.
Given his two terms as the constituency representative, Chakradhar has built a strong relationship with the local Ahom and tea tribe communities, ANI reported. For Lurinjyoti, support could come from different areas, including young people and those interested in identity politics and the implementation of Section 6. An independent candidate, Biju Duara, has also entered the election race. Dawara’s assets and local influence could split the votes of other candidates in the constituency.
Silchar
It is located in the Barak Valley Silchar Assembly constituency was once a Congress stronghold due to late political leader Santosh Mohan Dev. The constituency was also represented by his wife Pithika Dev and daughter Sushmita Dev, who is a TMC MP at present.
However, BJP’s Dipayan Chakraborty won the seat in 2021, defeating the Congress by more than 37,000 votes. The BJP has fielded former Lok Sabha MP Rajdeep Roy from the seat in the 2026 Assembly elections. He will face Congress candidate Abhijit Paul.
