Councilor Hukum Shan Ali Boxi congratulates Rinika Bhuyan Sarma at the meeting at Garigaon Idgah. Photo: Facebook/Hukum Shan Ali Boxi
A huge rally of “Akau ebar BJP sorkar” (BJP government once again) greets the visitors as they emerge from the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Assamis Guwahati. However, nothing else indicates that it is election season, except for the odd party flag or an empty booth. The road to the city is littered with other welcome messages, flags and posters for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on one of their many visits to inaugurate a project or lay the foundation stone for another – a hallmark of the BJP’s “permanent campaign”. This time, however, there was a cartographic change.
The airport area now marks the western boundaries of Legislative Assembly constituency 37, Jalukbari, the seat that sent Himanta Biswa Sarma to Assam Assembly without fail since 2001. The delimitation exercise in 2023 left the chief minister wooing a newer set of voters. Some regions from the erstwhile Guwahati West constituency were incorporated, some were ceded to neighboring assembly segments.
Published – 7 Apr 2026 12:09 PM IST
