‘I will decide 30 Congress tickets’: Himanta Biswa Sarma’s remark at Aaj Tak event triggers political debate

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made a striking political remark on opposition strategy while speaking at the Panchayat Aaj Tak event in Guwahati, saying that he could effectively influence the distribution of as many as 30 tickets of the Indian National Congress in the 2026 Assembly elections.

Responding to a question from senior journalist Anjana Om Kashyap, Sarma said that in the upcoming election to the Assam Legislative Assembly, the Congress will distribute tickets for all 126 seats, but claimed that around 30 of those candidates would effectively be “his people”.

He said these seats would be in constituencies where the Bharatiya Janata Party or its National Democratic Alliance partners have little electoral scope, and therefore supporting certain candidates there could become politically advantageous in the long term.

Sarma explained that his political planning extends well beyond the Assembly election cycle and is linked to future elections to the Rajya Sabha. According to him, two Rajya Sabha seats from Assam will fall vacant after the Assembly polls, followed by additional vacancies in the years ahead.

“I have to plan till 2031,” Sarma said, adding that building political assets across parties could help during future parliamentary elections when votes of MLAs become crucial.

During the interaction, Sarma also made a reference to his relationship with former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah. He remarked that although Borah had often been one of his strongest critics in public, the two shared a political rapport.

Sarma recalled that he had once told journalists that Borah might eventually join the BJP, adding that the statement had later turned out to be accurate when Borah switched parties earlier in his political career.

The chief minister’s remarks at the event have sparked discussion in political circles, as they appeared to suggest a long-term electoral strategy that goes beyond party lines in shaping future legislative and parliamentary outcomes in Assam.