NDA targets 100 Assam Assembly seats; Himanta alleges threats by Rahul Gandhi and Madani

Setting the stage for next year’s Assam Assembly elections, several NDA leaders, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and AGP chief Atul Bora, on August 29 announced a target of winning 100 of the 126 assembly seats in the state. 

The rally, attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, focused on development, anti-infiltration measures, and criticism of the Congress.

Addressing panchayat representatives, Sarma called for the protection of Assam’s “jati, mati, bhet” (community, land, foundation) and vowed to reclaim land encroached upon by outsiders. He alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with Islamic scholar Madani, had recently threatened him, warning that Assam is ready to defend itself as it did during the historic Battle of Saraighat.

Sonowal criticised Congress for a tenure marked by “neglect, terrorism and disturbances,” asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government brought peace and development to the Northeast. Bora echoed concerns about past expansion of fundamentalist forces but said law and order has improved under the NDA, with peace accords signed with insurgents.

Also Read: Amit Shah vows to make India free of infiltrators

During his two-day visit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the BJP’s preparations for the 2026 assembly elections, targeting Congress over its alleged protection of infiltrators. He criticised Rahul Gandhi’s “Ghuspetiya Bachao Yatra” in Bihar, calling it a bid to protect infiltrators and urged the Congress leader to apologise to Prime Minister Modi and the nation.

Shah also highlighted Assam’s anti-encroachment drives, stating that 1,29,548 acres of land had been freed from infiltrators and that Vaishnavite monasteries’ sanctity had been restored. Speaking at the birth centenary of Assam’s first non-Congress Chief Minister Golap Borbora, he recalled Borbora’s efforts to cleanse voter lists, detecting 36,780 illegal names, which he described as the origin of the Assam Agitation.

Shah reaffirmed the BJP’s commitment to making Assam and the entire country free of illegal foreigners, noting that the high-power demography mission announced by Modi is a step to study the demographic pattern and identify infiltrators.

Assam Assembly, with 126 seats, is expected to go to polls in March-April next year. Currently, the BJP holds 64 seats, while its allies AGP and UPPL have nine and seven MLAs respectively. The opposition comprises Congress (26), AIUDF (15), BPF (3), CPI(M) (1), and one Independent legislator.

Shah departed for Delhi later in the day, with CM Sarma and cabinet colleagues seeing him off. The Chief Minister took to X to express gratitude, calling Shah’s guidance over the past 24 hours “energising and motivational.”