The Assam Assembly elections are expected to witness a direct contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress Party, which is looking to revive it.
While Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is eyeing another term in the state, the Congress is counting on anti-incumbents to return to power after a decade.
The BJP is relying on the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the Congress Party has nominated Gaurav Gogoi, the son of former Prime Minister Tarun Gogoi.
In a state facing several major issues, including immigration and alleged corruption, both the ruling BJP-led NDA and the opposition Congress have formed alliances with smaller parties to rule out any possibility of vote splitting.
Assam’s young players and where do they stand?
Politics in Assam, which has traditionally been a two-way competition, has witnessed many small but crucial players in state politics.
Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), two parties born out of the agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, remain a decisive force in state politics, where illegal immigration dominates among other issues. This time, the two parties are competing in the elections in alliance with the Congress Party.
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In the last elections, the Justice and Development Party was unable to win any seat. Gogoi’s Raijor Dhal won one seat. This time, Raigor Dal is competing for 11 seats, while the RJD is competing for 8 seats.
Apart from the Raijor Dal and AJP, the Congress has forged alliances with other small parties, including the CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).
In the NDA, the BJP has Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) as allies. While the RJD won nine seats, the Bodoland People’s Front won four seats.
Lone wolf worker
Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front and Pramod Boro’s UPPL are contesting alone in the Assam elections. While Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress party’s front-runner, has ruled out any electoral alliance with the Islamic Democratic Front of India this time, several party leaders have left the camp due to growing unpopularity among Muslims, the party’s core voting base.
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In the 2021 elections, the Congress was in alliance with the AIUDF to ensure that minority votes were not split. The party won 16 seats in the 2021 elections. However, this time, the federation received support from Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM party, in an apparent attempt to unite minority voters.
The liberal United People’s Party, which withdrew from the BJP-led alliance, decided to chart its own path in Assam, citing “ideological differences”.
The party is contesting 21 seats in the state and is looking to make an impact in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), apart from its core areas.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has also announced a list of 20 candidates for Assam so far. The TMC led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also finalized 22 candidates for the neighboring state.
