Assam polls: BJP-led NDA may win 103 seats after delimitation, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are likely to win as many as 103 of the 126 assembly seats in the elections expected to be held in March–April.

“I wouldn’t like to give an exact figure, but this time we have a chance of winning 103 seats. Earlier, that probability was around 90 seats. With the delimitation of seats, that number has gone up by another 13–15,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Dimoria in Kamrup Metropolitan district.

The Election Commission completed the delimitation of the state’s 126 assembly seats and 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in August 2023, significantly redrawing constituency boundaries. At the time, the BJP said the exercise would help secure a majority of seats for Assam’s indigenous population.

Sarma said the BJP-led alliance would focus its efforts on around 103 constituencies. “We will contest these seats with full vigour. In the remaining 23–24 seats, we do not have much chance of winning and the fight will be largely symbolic. In the 103 seats where we are competitive, voters could give us 100, 90 or even 80 seats,” he said.

The BJP is currently allied with three regional parties in Assam — the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). However, a seat-sharing arrangement among the allies is yet to be finalised.

Meanwhile, the Congress has begun preparing for the polls. A notification issued late Saturday night by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) announced that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been appointed chairperson of the party’s screening committee for the upcoming Assam assembly elections.

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi said the party plans to contest 100 seats, leaving the remaining 26 for potential allies such as Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad and the CPI(M). He also said the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) would not be part of the opposition alliance.