Identity politics and Oppn drift blunt anti-incumbency

THE much-discussed “undercurrent” against the ruling dispensation in Assam proved illusory, as the BJP-led NDA not only held its ground but secured a third consecutive term, effectively neutralising anti-incumbency in a state where electoral fatigue is often decisive.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Guwahati

A six-party Opposition alliance, led by Congress, had sought to consolidate anti-BJP sentiment into a unified challenge. But the effort came too late and lacked cohesion. While BJP had been preparing for the electoral battle over a full five-year cycle, Congress entered it weakened, organisationally depleted by defections and strategically constrained, with alliance-building finalised only weeks before polling.

BJP’s campaign rested on a calibrated blend of development messaging and identity politics. On one hand, it foregrounded infrastructure expansion, welfare delivery, and governance reforms, on the other it sharpened anxieties around illegal immigration and land encroachment, particularly targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims, often referred to in political discourse as “Miyas.” The party repeatedly warned that a defeat would reopen the door to what it described as demographic and territorial pressures.