Assam Panchayat Polls Boost BJP’s Dominance
The Assam panchayat polls have given a significant boost to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is confident that its popularity and hold in minority areas will continue to grow. The BJP and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) have won 301 of the 397 zila panchayat seats across districts, and 1,446 of 2,192 anchalik panchayat seats. The Congress won 72 zila panchayat and 480 anchalik panchayat seats.
The BJP-AGP combination has secured all the zila panchayat seats in several districts in Eastern and North Assam, where different ethnic Assamese communities, tribes, and tea-garden communities comprise the majority of voters. In Central and Lower Assam areas, where Bengali-origin Muslims have a significant population, the BJP has won all the zila panchayat seats, except in minority areas where the Congress has won.
According to the 2011 Census, Muslims make up 34.33% of Assam’s population. The Assam BJP has been focusing on minority-dominated regions since last year, winning with Hindu candidates in Muslim-majority constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections and the Samaguri Assembly bypoll. The party has registered significant electoral wins in traditional constituencies and has been able to strengthen its position in areas where it traditionally does not have support.
While conceding defeat, state Congress president Bhupen Borah and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi have said that traditionally, the ruling party wins local body elections. The outcome was not indicative of the things to come in the Assembly polls. Opposition parties have also alleged the misuse of state machinery, blackmail of voters with beneficiary schemes, and the use of money and muscle power.
The Congress cannot wish away the results, particularly when it comes to its strained ties with other anti-BJP parties. They have been trying to form an Opposition alliance for the last two years, an effort that came apart before last year’s Assembly bypoll earlier and continued in the panchayat elections. Gogoi, a part of the anti-BJP front, has been openly hostile to the Congress since what happened in the bypoll and said that while he felt an alliance was necessary for the 2026 elections, it was up to the Congress to make the first move.
The current ‘Opposition Unity Platform’, which no longer includes the Congress, has also indirectly appealed to the national party to tie up with the regional parties. The platform’s president and Independent Rajya Sabha MP, Ajit Bhuyan, and Asom Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi said that by holding the democratic system hostage, the BJP has falsely projected an image of widespread popularity in Assam. To defeat the anti-democratic, anti-people BJP, there is no alternative but for all BJP- and AIUDF-opposing parties in Assam to unite.
