Buoyed by the favourable panchayat election results, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance has set a target of winning 95 seats in the 2026 Assembly elections in Assam.
The BJP and its ally, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), won 307 out of the 397 Zila Parishad seats across 27 districts. The Congress bagged 62 while other parties and independents won 28 seats.
As the counting was on, around 7 p.m. on Sunday, the BJP-AGP combine had won 1,409 out of 2,192 Anchalik Panchayat seats, followed by the Congress with 122 seats and others 41 seats.
“The outcome reflects the faith people have in the BJP and our NDA partners. They have inspired us to work harder for the 2026 Assembly elections, in which we can win at least 95 seats,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told journalists after the near-sweep performance by the BJP and AGP.
He also said the NDA seat count in the 126-member Assam Assembly could go up to 104.
The NDA won 75 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections. The seat count increased to 84 following by-elections.
The Chief Minister also took a swipe at Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi after the Congress drew a blank in two eastern districts – Jorhat and Sivasagar – under his Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress’s performance in the other 12 districts of eastern Assam was almost as dismal.
The BJP-AGP combine won 161 out of 167 Zila Parishad seats in the eastern Assam. The Congress managed four seats.
The two-phase rural polls were the first after the 2023 delimitation exercise in Assam.
Assam BJP president and MP Dilip Saikia said the NDA government’s commitment to rural development “helped us secure more than 80%” of the Zila Parishad and Anchalik Parishad seats.
“The historic and decisive victory shows people have voted to accelerate the progress under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,” he said.
