An election official demonstrates how to use an electronic voting device during a training session for government employees ahead of the Assam Legislative Assembly elections in Guwahati, India, March 25, 2026. | Photo credit: AP
“Unaligned” political parties may be the dark horses in Assam’s electoral battle between two blocs – the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Asom Sonmiloto Morcha (ASM).
The 2026 mandate is expected to be a straight fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA and the Congress-led ASM for the 126 seats in the Assam Assembly.
Harvest of anxiety: On Assam, its Assembly elections
BJP has three allies — Asom Gana Parishad, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) and Rabha Hasong Joutha Mancha. The Congress has five partners in the ASM – two from the Left Front, two that spawned the Anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and a tribal party on the hill.
Both blocs are trembling for victory on April 9, the day of the vote. However, neutral parties are gaining confidence as D-Day approaches.
The most confident of these parties are the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which was part of the Congress-led Mahajot (Grand Alliance) during the 2021 polls, and the United People’s Party Liberation (UPPL), which was an ally of the BJP five years ago. Both had quit their respective alliance, UPPL, less than a fortnight ago.
Best strike rate
The AUIDF had the best strike rate in 2021, winning 16 of the 20 seats it contested. Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal, party chief and candidate from the central Assam Binnakandi seat, said the AIUDF has the firepower to at least match the 2021 performance.
The AUIDF is contesting 27 seats, most of them in Muslim-dominated areas.
“The political landscape in Assam will undergo a major shift this time as the minority people know that both BJP and Congress are using them. People also know that today’s Congress is BJP’s A-team,” he said.
UPPL, which won six of the 11 seats it contested in 2021, is equally optimistic about a good show. The party is contesting 18 seats, three outside its core area covered by the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
“We are fighting this election independently because our supporters, our strength, wanted it. We played a key role in restoring peace in BTR which is reverting to violence,” UPPL President Pramod Boro said. He was elected to the Rajya Sahba a few days ago and is contesting for the Tamulpur seat in BTR.
The UPPL ruled the Bodoland Territorial Council, which governs the BTR, in association with the BJP for five years until the BPF defeated it in the September 2025 council polls.
The four other non-aligned political entities in the fray are the All India Trinamool Congress (contesting 23 seats), the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (21 seats), the Aam Aadmi Party (14 seats) and the National People’s Party (NPP) led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, which is contesting three seats.
These neutrals are unopposed in many districts, raising hopes that they could cause an upset or two.
Trinamool Congress and NPP have drawn a blank in 2021.
Published – 25 March 2026 21:25 IST
