Page 3 - Assam Assembly Polls

Assembly elections in five states from April 9, results on May 4

EC announces April polling for five states and Puducherry, with Bengal voting in two phases and results scheduled for May 4

Confident that BJP will again form govt in Assam, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said he is confident that the BJP will return to power in Assam under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with the "largest ever mandate". Addressing the youth convention of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) here, Shah urged the people to give another mandate to the BJP and assured them that "every infiltrator will be sent out of India". His comment comes on a day when the Election Commission (EC) announced that the Assam assembly elections would be held on April 9 and the counting on May 4. "I am confident that the BJP will again form a government in Assam with the largest ever mandate and power of the youths," he said. In the current 126-member assembly, the ruling BJP's strength is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven, and the BPF has three members. ''The Congress gave shelter to infiltrators, but the BJP government is determined to identify each one of them and drive them out of the country," Shah

Elections in Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala from Apr 9; result on May 4

Elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu will be held in a single phase, while West Bengal will vote in two phases

PM Modi unveils projects worth ₹23,550 cr in Assam's Silchar ahead of polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch projects worth around Rs 23,550 crore in Silchar on Saturday, marking the final leg of his two-day tour of Assam ahead of the assembly elections. After spending the night in Guwahati, the Prime Minister will depart for Silchar this morning to perform the 'bhoomi poojan' for the Rs 22,860 crore Shillong-Silchar Corridor project, the first access-controlled greenfield high-speed expressway in the North-East, officials said. The 166-km four-lane corridor will considerably enhance connectivity between Meghalaya and Assam, reduce the distance between Guwahati and Silchar, cutting travel time from 8.5 hours to around 5 hours, thereby fostering economic growth and cross-border trade in the region. Modi will also perform the 'bhoomi poojan' for an elevated corridor on NH-306, from Trunk Road near Capital Point to Rangirkhari Point in Silchar (Phase I). This project aims to alleviate congestion on one of Silchar's busiest roads, improve links with ..

PM Modi to launch ₹47,600 crore projects in Assam ahead of elections

PM Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Assam, his fourth to the state in the last four months, will feature the launch of projects worth around ₹47,600 crore across Kokrajhar, Guwahati and Silchar

Former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah joins BJP ahead of polls

Former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah on Sunday joined the ruling BJP in the presence of its state unit president Dilip Saikia here. Borah became a BJP member during a function held at the Assam BJP headquarters 'Vajpayee Bhawan'. Along with him, former Congress worker Sanju Bora, too, joined the saffron party. Borah had resigned on February 16, with the Congress high command not accepting it and senior leaders rushing to his residence, while Rahul Gandhi also spoke to him. He had asked for time to reconsider his decision, but the next day, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma went to his residence and announced that he would join the BJP on February 22. The 126-member Assam assembly is expected to go to polls in March-April.

Assam completes electoral roll revision; 586K names added, 243K deleted

Assam's Chief Electoral Officer explained that, unlike the usual process, the recent exercise involved door-to-door verification to proactively identify eligible voters and collect necessary forms

Over 243,000 names deleted from final voter list in poll-bound Assam

The final electoral roll comprises nearly 12.5 million men, 12.4 million women and 343 third-gender voters

NDA to contest all 126 Assam assembly seats, seat-sharing talks on

Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia on Thursday said the ruling NDA will contest all 126 constituencies in the assembly elections, but the seat-sharing understanding with its allies has not been finalised yet. During an interaction with journalists, Saikia said the party will be in the fray, riding on the plank of making a "safe, developed and self-reliant" Assam. "The NDA will contest all the 126 seats, it is confirmed from us. However, our seat-sharing agreement is not complete as of now," he said. Saikia said the NDA alliance is not for "show-off" and all parties in it are serious about the state's development. "I have personally spoken to AGP president Atul Bora, minister Keshab Mahanta and MPs Birendra Prasad Baishya and Phani Bhusan Choudhury regarding the seat arrangements," he said. Saikia accepted that there are some issues regarding a few seats, and both parties are in talks to hammer out a solution. "After delimitation, some seats were abolished, and a few were changed. T

Assam CM urges voters to choose development over vote-bank politics

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that the time has come for people to think and make a choice whether they want 'vote bank politics' or take forward the development journey launched by his government during the last five years. The state will go to the polls in the next few months, and people must decide whether they want to ''surrender to Bangladeshi Muslims'' or be part of progress and development, the chief minister said in his address after unfurling the national flag at the Republic Day function here. He said that earlier, Republic and Independence Days in the state were marked by violence and insurgency, but now ''we are among the fastest growing states in the country''. ''We have decided not to surrender to the Bangladeshi Muslims who have encroached upon huge areas of land and threatened our identity, culture and traditions. We have started the process of reclaiming our land by evicting the encroachers,'' he said. Sarma said that his government was ..

PM to visit Assam from Jan 17, unveil Amrit Bharat trains, launch projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Assam from Saturday for two days, during which he is scheduled to flag off two Amrit Bharat trains and lay the foundation stone for the Kaziranga elevated corridor, an official said. Modi's visit to the northeastern state, where assembly elections are due in the first half of 2026, will be his second tour in less than a month. Soon after his arrival here on the evening of January 17, the PM is set to witness the Bodo folk dance 'Bagurumba' by 10,000 performers at the Arjun Bhogeswar Barua Sports stadium in the city, the official said on Friday. Modi will leave for Kaliabor the next day to lay the foundation stone for the Rs 6,957 crore Kaziranga elevated corridor, he said. The prime minister is expected to flag off virtually two Amrit Bharat Express trains, Dibrugarh-Gomti Nagar (Lucknow) and Kamakhya-Rohtak, and address a public meeting at Kaliabor, he said. Modi had come to Assam on a two-day visit from December 20 to inaugurate the

BJP turns to women for victory in Assam amid rising female turnout

With women voting in record numbers, the BJP is banking on welfare schemes like Orunodoi and MMUA to consolidate female support ahead of Assam's Assembly elections

Assam polls will be people vs 'raja': Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi alleged that the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government was running an authoritarian regime and claimed that the upcoming assembly elections in the state would be a battle between the people and the 'raja' (ruler). He claimed that people's right to criticise, a crucial element in a democracy, was being taken away by the BJP-led coalition government. "This election will be between the people of Assam and the raja (ruler)," Gogoi said on Friday while addressing a 'Gana Abhibarthan' (mass convention) organised by the Dibrugarh District Citizens' Forum here as the state gets into poll mode. Assembly elections are likely to be held in March-April. He asserted that the Constitution has given citizens not only the right to vote, but also the right to criticise the government. "Democracy is impossible without the right to question. Citizens have the right to know what kind of work the government is doing in the fields of health, education and infrastructu

Assam invokes 1950 Immigrants Expulsion Act: What’s behind the move?

For the first time since it was created, Assam has activated a 75-year-old law to expel individuals declared foreigners. What does this mean for the state, and why now? Here’s a breakdown.

Assam cabinet expands as BPF MLA Charan Boro takes oath as minister

The Assam Cabinet was expanded on Saturday as Bodoland People's Front (BPF) MLA Charan Boro took oath as a minister. Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Boro, the second-time MLA from Majbat constituency. The development comes after the BPF, which had been supporting the ruling BJP-led coalition in the assembly without being a partner of it, swept the recently held Bodoland Territorial Council elections. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, several of his Cabinet colleagues and other dignitaries were present at the swearing-in ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan. Boro filled the last vacant position in the state council of ministers. With the latest induction, the cabinet now has 15 members of the BJP, including the CM, two of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and one each of the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and the BPF. This is the fourth expansion of the Sarma-led Cabinet.

Over 70% voter turnout marked in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Council polls

Around 70.96 per cent of voters exercised their franchise till 4.30 pm on Monday in the elections to the 40-member Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), which will decide the fate of 316 candidates, officials said. The final turnout figure is awaited as people who entered polling booths before the 4 pm deadline were allowed to cast their votes, they said. There were no reports of any untoward incident from any of the five districts of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). BTC chief Pramod Boro exercised his franchise at Goibari in Tamulpur district, while BPF president Hagrama Mohilary cast his vote at Debargaon Higher Secondary school in Kokrajhar. Polls are being held amid tight security, though no violence took place in the run-up to the elections. The total number of voters in the five districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Udalguri and Tamulpur is 26,58,153, comprising 13,23,536 males, 13,34,600 females and 17 people of other genders. There are a total of 3,359 polling stations,

Assam BJP holds two-day meet to plan 2026 Assembly poll strategy

With an eye on next year's assembly elections, leaders of the ruling BJP in Assam brainstormed over two days, drawing up organisational strategies and a roadmap. The discussions held in the meeting will be the basis for the party leadership to take forward its preparations for the polls, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. "A two-day @BJP4Assam organisational meeting was held in the esteemed presence of Hon'ble CM Dr. @himantabiswa & BJP National General Secretary (Org) Shri @blsanthosh ji," state BJP president Dilip Saikia posted on X on Sunday after the end of the meeting, which was held at a resort in Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati. Key discussions included the state's political scenario, organisational strategies and roadmap for the 2026 assembly polls, he added. Sarma, talking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme later, said, "The meeting focused on preparation for the assembly polls, manifesto preparation, candidate selection, campaign strategy, and ...

Congress surveys economic hardship in Assam ahead of assembly polls

Opposition Congress is carrying out a study on the economic hardship faced by the people of Assam under the BJP-led government ahead of next year's assembly polls, and gearing up to submit the report within the next two months, according to a senior leader. All India Congress Committee national spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra also termed the 'double engine government', a phrase oft quoted by BJP leaders, as the 'trouble engine government' for Assam, accusing the ruling party of focusing "only on polarisation". "A study is going on related to the economic hardship of people in Assam and possible solutions to tackle this. Once published, it will also present a future roadmap for revenue generation for the government," Sapra told PTI in an interview. He pointed his guns towards the beneficiary schemes in Assam, and claimed that the huge debt taken to offer these cash-driven programmes is a real concern for the state, especially for future governments. "This is going to be a big issue

Assam CM accuses Gaurav Gogoi of defence queries after marrying a Briton

Himanta Biswa Sarma's remarks came a day after BJP's national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused Gogoi's wife of having links with Pakistan's ISI

Ready to ban beef in Assam if Congress writes to me: CM Himanta Sarma

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he was ready to ban beef in Assam if state Congress chief Bupen Kumar Borah writes to him, seeking such it. Responding to the allegation that BJP distributed beef to win the Muslim-dominated Samaguri, which was under Congress control for five consecutive terms, Sarma said he was happy that the opposition party raised the matter. "Samaguri was with Congress for 25 years. Congress losing a constituency like Samaguri by 27,000 votes (sic) is the biggest shame in its history. It is Congress's defeat more than BJP's win," he told reporters after a party meeting here on Saturday. BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah defeated Congress' Tanzil, son of party MP Rakibul Hussain, by 24,501 votes in a bypoll last month. "But amidst sadness, Rakibul Hussain said one good thing that eating beef is wrong, isn't it? He said that it was wrong for Congress-BJP to win elections by offering beef to voters," the CM said when asked about the MP's reported comment. "I want t