Assam polls: BJP avoids seat targets; bets on vote share surge

Guwahati: BJP in Assam which has a penchant for setting target seats is avoiding predicting the number of seats NDA will win in 2026 assembly seats.

In 2016 it was 84 plus. Ahead of 2021 polls BJP had given clarion call for winning 100 plus seats in the 126-member assembly.

In 2016 BJP had won 60 seats and in 2021 initially it won 60 seats which later stretched to 64 seats.




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Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma when repeatedly asked about the number of seats NDA will get in this election, he is maintaining that BJP will get over 50 percent vote share. He said, " We will get an unprecedented and historic mandate this time."

Same is being repeated by the state Unit President, Dilip Saikia.

BJP national vice-president and MP Baijayant Jay Panda, the party’s election in-charge for the state said that NDA is heading for a decisive and historic mandate which will be unbelievable and there will be huge growth in number of seats from last time.

Panda recently told ET, "Voter share increase will lead to dramatic increase in seats. Even with the vote share we had last time we had a comprehensive victory; the alliance won 75 seats when the entire opposition was united. Today the entire opposition is not united, there is tremendous and complete turnaround in the security situation. There is a pro incumbency wave, there is massive response of people, women, youths. Response and survey suggest massive surge of seats. People have made up their minds, and they are going to give us a historic, unbelievable mandate with several seats which is unimaginable today.”

Political observers believe that the BJP has learned from experience. “Sarma, since the Jharkhand election in 2024, where he was the poll in-charge, has refrained from giving seat projections. Last year, polls were held in the Sixth Schedule council of the Bodoland Territorial Council, where Sarma campaigned extensively. Soon after the polls, he said the BJP would not achieve the expected results but would perform better than last time. However, the BJP could win only five seats in the BTC elections, compared to nine in 2020. This setback might be one reason for the saffron party not talking about seat numbers.”


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In the 2026 assembly polls, the BJP is contesting 90 seats, while its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad, is contesting 26 seats and the Bodoland People’s Front 11 seats. In one seat, there will be a "friendly contest" between BJP and AGP.

Assam will go to single-phase assembly polls on April 9.