Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma celebrates at the party’s BJP headquarters in Guwahati after winning the assembly elections on May 4, 2026. | Photo credit: Ritu Raj Konwar
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is set to form the government in Assam for the third consecutive term. In the 126-seat assembly, the seat and vote share of the incumbent alliance increased significantly.
Politics in Assam is characterized by great linguistic, religious and ethnic diversity. This created ample ground for political polarization in many directions. Historically, the state has undergone various political shifts from Congress dominance until the mid-1970s to the rise of regionalism in the mid-1980s, before returning to Congress dominance in the early decades of the 21st century. The state, once considered a bastion of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led Indian National Congress, has now become a stronghold of the BJP. The current electoral mandate should therefore be understood as a renewed confirmation of pre-existing political dominance with expanded ideological anchors.
Published – May 5, 2026 01:08 IST
