BJP-led NDA crosses majority mark, to form govt in Assam for second straight time

GUWAHATI: With a new combination, the NDA is set to retain Assam for the second successive term clearing CAA and incumbency hurdles and beating Mahajot of Congress, AIUDF, BPF and Left parties.

Till 10.30pm, the EC had declared results of 70 of 126 seats and trends of remaining 56. The NDA has so far won 47 seats and was leading in 26 while Congress and its Mahajot has won 23 seats and was leading in remaining 28. In two seats, two independents were leading. In 2016, the NDA had won 87 seats.

But no party looks to be on course to make it past the halfway mark of 63 in the house of 126 alone. BJP is likely to finish as the single largest party with 60 seats, which would be construed as no improvement given the fact that it had won the same number of seats five years back. AGP’s number of seats has come down from 14 in 2016 to eight and the alliance’s new partner UPPL had managed to win five out of 12 seats in BTC till the last update.

“We will have an absolute majority. A stronger opposition means a healthier democracy,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said but didn’t want to go into the analysis of the results in view of the Covid-19 situation.

The election, which was fought on the issue of protecting Assam’s identity, got strongly polarised on religious lines and is likely to give four more seats to Congress and two more to AIUDF than in 2016.

What helped BJP survive the CAA fire was its ability to project NRC as an antidote to the CAA and its pledge to implement Clause VI of the Assam Accord, which proposes to protect the identity of indigenous Assamese people. Ironically, NRC and Clause VI are Congress’s creations while CAA is BJP’s brainchild. BJP also benefited from the votes cut into by anti-CAA parties AJP and Raijor Dal, which otherwise would have gone to Congress.

“This election was definitely the battle for Assamese culture and Assamese civilisation and the mandate has been given to BJP to protect them. There was also PM Narendra Modi’s push for development that steered BJP,” Sarma said.

Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma have both won their seats of Majuli and Jalukbari respectively. NDA partner AGP’s president Atul Bora has also won from Bokakhat.

Congress president Ripun Bora, who had projected himself as a CM face for Congress, was defeated, while three BPF ministers of the outgoing government lost to UPPL. Peasants’ leader Akhil Gogoi, the sole winner of Raijor Dal, has become the second candidate to win an assembly election in the state from judicial custody.