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COVER STORY MAY 08, 2026 | The Indian Eye 5

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma celebrates the
party’s victory in the Assam assembly elections at BJP State
BJP Bhabanipur candidate Suvendu Adhikari speaks to the media as he wins the Bhawanipur seat in Kolkata on Monday (ANI Photo) office in Guwahati on Monday (ANI Photo)

seats, the vote share gap between Reports of clashes between party This election was particularly sig- Asom Gana Parishad, each securing
it and the TMC remained relative- workers and incidents of vandalism nificant as it was the first fought un- 10 seats, also underscores the impor-
ly narrow—45.84% versus 40.80%. indicate that political tensions remain der Chief Minister Himanta Biswa tance of coalition politics in Assam.
This suggests that the electoral shift, high. The BJP, for its part, has framed Sarma. Sarma’s leadership has been The NDA’s ability to maintain and
though decisive in institutional terms, the result as a rejection of what it calls central to the BJP’s strategy in Assam, manage these alliances has been a key
does not entirely erase the TMC’s the TMC’s “politics of chaos.” blending governance with a keen un- factor in its sustained success.
social base. Instead, it points to the Analysts point to deeper struc- derstanding of regional dynamics. The Assam’s result is significant not
BJP’s superior efficiency in trans- tural shifts underlying the result. The improved performance compared to just in itself but in what it represents.
lating votes into seats, a hallmark of fragmentation of TMC’s traditional the 2021 election suggests that his ap- It shows the BJP moving from expan-
well-executed electoral strategy. vote base, particularly among minori- proach has not only retained but ex- sion to entrenchment in the North-
The most symbolic moment of ty communities, played a significant panded the party’s support base. east. Unlike Bengal, where the party’s
the election came in Bhabanipur, role. Smaller parties such as the All The BJP’s success in Assam rests rise is recent and contested, Assam
where Banerjee herself was defeated India Secular Front split crucial vote on a combination of development-ori- reflects a mature phase of political
by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari by banks, weakening the TMC’s elec- ented governance and identity poli- consolidation.
over 15,000 votes. This was not merely toral arithmetic. At the same time, tics. Infrastructure projects, welfare Tamil Nadu: The Disruption of
a constituency loss but a psychological the BJP’s consolidation of urban and schemes, and a focus on law and order Dravidian Politics
blow to the TMC’s leadership. Baner- suburban voters, combined with its fo- have been key elements of its appeal.
jee, who had dominated Bengal poli- cus on issues like illegal immigration, At the same time, issues such as ille- f Bengal and Assam highlight dif-
tics for over a decade, suddenly found broadened its appeal. gal immigration and cultural identity ferent facets of the BJP’s trajec-
herself on the defensive. The defeat In many ways, Bengal encap- continue to play a significant role in Itory, Tamil Nadu introduces an
underscored the depth of anti-incum- sulates the contradictions of India’s shaping voter preferences. entirely different dynamic: the disrup-
bency and the effectiveness of the current political moment. It is a sto- Prime Minister Modi interpreted tion of a long-standing regional po-
BJP’s narrative. ry of decisive change coexisting with the victory as an endorsement of this litical order. Actor-turned-politician
Prime Minister Narendra Modi persistent division. The BJP’s victory dual strategy, stating that it reflected Vijay has emerged as a transformative
framed the victory in sweeping his- is historic, but the contest for political “unwavering support” for the NDA’s figure, with his party Tamilaga Vettri
torical terms, linking it to the legacy and social legitimacy in the state is far emphasis on development and positive Kazhagam (TVK) winning over 100
of Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Calling from over. change. His remarks highlight the par- seats and reshaping the state’s politi-
it a “historic fulfillment,” Modi em- Assam: ty’s broader narrative: that effective cal landscape.
phasized governance, development, Consolidation of Power governance can coexist with, and even For more than six decades, Tamil
and the promise of a “fear-free” reinforce, identity-based mobilization. Nadu’s politics has been dominated by
Bengal. He also struck a conciliatory hile Bengal represents dis- The Congress, in contrast, strug- the Dravidian parties—the DMK and
note, urging party workers to focus on ruption, Assam tells a story gled to present a coherent alternative. the AIADMK. This duopoly created
“change, not revenge” and to end the Wof consolidation. The BJP- The defeat of senior leader Gaurav a relatively stable but predictable po-
“endless cycle of violence” that has of- led National Democratic Alliance Gogoi in Jorhat symbolized the par- litical environment. Vijay’s entry has
ten marred elections in the state. (NDA) secured its third consecutive ty’s broader challenges in the state. upended this equilibrium. His party’s
However, the aftermath of the victory in the state, crossing the 100- With just 15 seats, Congress remains performance, far surpassing that of
election suggests that reconciliation seat mark in a 126-member assembly. a distant second, unable to match the both DMK and AIADMK, signals a
may not be immediate. Banerjee re- The BJP alone won over 80 seats, organizational strength and strategic profound shift in voter preferences.
jected the results, alleging large-scale marking its highest-ever tally in As- clarity of the BJP. Vijay’s appeal lies in a combina-
irregularities and describing the out- sam and reinforcing its dominance in The role of allies such as the tion of factors. His popularity as a film
come as “immoral” and “illegal.” the region. Bodoland People’s Front and the Continued on next page... >>

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