Assam Election Result 2021: BJP-led NDA wins second term with 75 seats, Congress' grand alliance fails to impress

Himanta Biswa Sarma

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to form the government in Assam for the second consecutive term after an emphatic win in the north-eastern state. The saffron alliance won 75 seats, while the opposition 'Grand Alliance' comprising the Congress, AIUDF and eight other parties drew 50.

In the NDA clan, BJP won 50 seats, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) 9 seats, the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) 6.

Assam Election Result: List of key candidates who won or lost

Bodoland People's Front won 4, while Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front clinched 16 seats.

The ruling BJP was seeking to return to power amid competition from 'Mahajoth' or 'Grand Alliance' comprising the Congress, AIUDF, Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF), and CPI(M).

Also read | CAA factor: BJP’s Assam assembly win reveals illegal migration continues to be a big issue

Big-ticket candidate Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal defeated his nearest Congress rival and former Congress Minister Rajib Lochan Pegu by 43,192 votes to retain his Majuli seat for the second
consecutive term.

Sonowal said the people had blessed them. “A victory for Barak-Brahmaputra, Hills & Plains. Thank you Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi,” he said.

Click here for key highlights from the counting day

Star campaigner and State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also retained his Jalukbari constituency for the fifth consecutive term defeating his Congress opponent Romen Chandra Borthakur by a whopping 1,01,911 votes, improving upon his previous record of 85,935 votes in 2016.

Sarma said the BJP will soon form the government in the state and the party will decide who will be made the next chief minister.

Speaker of the outgoing assembly Hitendra Nath Goswami, who was trailing in the earlier rounds behind former Congress MLA Rana Goswami, managed to clinch a victory by a margin of 6488 votes. His deputy Aminul Haque Laskar, however, lost the race in Sonai constituency to AIUDF's Karimuddin
Barbhuiya.

Among other heavyweight candidates, jailed Raijor Dal President and anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi, who contested as an independent, won the Sibsagar constituency by defeating his nearest BJP rival Surabhi Rajkonwari by 11.878 votes.

Read: Congress-AIUDF alliance helped BJP appropriate greater ethno-nationalistic space in Assam despite CAA

The new political party Assam Jatiya Parishad made a disastrous electoral foray. It failed to open its account and the party president Lurinjyoti Gogoi lost from both the constituencies he contested.

Congress' Assam president Ripun Bora too lost and resigned after the poll debacle. "...I courageously accept the verdict of the people. We fought till the end. I would also like to thank all those who supported me. But we will continue our fight for peace, democracy and secularism," Bora said.

Assam has a 126-member assembly and 64 seats are needed for a simple majority.

Click here for Moneycontrol's full coverage of Assembly Election 2021