Assam Assembly election 2026: Bitter, high-voltage campaign ends

A high-voltage campaign for the single-phase election to Assam’s 126-member Assembly, marked by sharp rhetoric and personal attacks, ended on Tuesday (April 7, 2026).

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Given the high turnout in past elections, the bulk of some 2.51 crore voters are expected to seal the fate of 722 candidates, including 59 women, on April 9.

The political parties and their candidates made a last-ditch effort to convince voters with a flurry of road shows, rallies, and public meetings across the State. The most colourful of these were led by three women candidates of the Opposition alliance in constituencies straddling Guwahati. They were Bidisha Neog and Mira Borthakur Goswami of Congress, and Kunki Chowdhury of Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). They are contesting the Jalukbari, Dispur, and Guwahati Central constituencies.

On Monday (April 6, 2026), Ms. Neog petitioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) to cancel the candidature of her heavyweight rival, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, for “non-disclosure of foreign assets of his family” in his election affidavit. Ms. Chowdhury shot to prominence after the Chief Minister criticised her mother, Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, for celebrating beef consumption and supporting “anti-nationals”.

The Chief Minister, engaged in a bitter verbal battle with State Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, made a final appeal to the voters to re-elect the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the State’s future. “Your one vote will decide the fate of Assam — whether we want a bright future or one of darkness. Choose wisely, choose NDA,” he wrote in one of his social media posts.

Mr. Gogoi, seeking his maiden entry to the State Assembly from the Jorhat seat in central Assam, hoped that the people would vote for a change and “respite from corruption and misrule” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Mandate 2026 is expected to buck the trend of one-sided elections in Assam. The fight would primarily be between two alliances — the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led Asom Sonmiloto Morcha (ASM).

The BJP’s partners are the Asom Gana Parishad, Bodoland People’s Party, and Rabha Hasong Joutha Mancha. Apart from Congress, the ASM’s constituents are the Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal, AJP, CPI(M), CPI(ML), and the All Party Hill Leaders’ Conference.

Among the neutral parties that could upset the chances of both alliances are the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front and the Pramod Boro-led United People’s Party Liberal.