How BJP clinched a massive victory in Assam's panchayat election

Indian Express

14-05-2025

Written by Juri Baruah
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's massive victory in the Assam panchayat election — it secured 300 out of 376 zilla parishad seats — reveals its strong foothold at the village and block level. While the BJP's seat share has increased from 50.48 per cent in 2018 to 68.51 per cent in 2025 for the zilla parishad, for the anchalik panchayat, it has increased from 46.66 per cent to 57.70 per cent. The BJP, with its alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad, Gana Sakti, and Rabha Hasong Joutha Mancha, reinforced its dominance in state politics as the Opposition struggled to regain lost ground. The panchayat election results can be used as an entry point to understand the trajectory of electoral politics in the state.
A possible reason for the BJP's victory is the popularity of several beneficiary schemes at the grassroots. Schemes like Orunodoi, Nijut Moina, and Mahila Udayamita seem to have played a massive role in consolidating the votes. Along with the beneficiary schemes, the BJP-led government's employment drive for Grade III and IV benefited the lower middle class and the educated young generation.
On the contrary, a lack of substantial trust and failure to raise important issues for the panchayat election led to the Opposition's crushing defeat. Its failure to forge an alliance, the absence of a clear imaginative roadmap, and a lack of connection to the common people also worked against it.
Notably, Congress even fared poorly in Upper Assam districts, particularly in the Jorhat parliamentary constituency represented by MP Gaurav Gogoi. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the Jorhat constituency gained national attention due to a tough battle between the BJP and Congress. Though people supported Gogoi — it was the first time he fought from Jorhat constituency — the ground situation has changed in 2025. Congress failed to win even a single zilla parishad seat in the Jorhat constituency.
The performance of Raijor Dal, another opposition party that contested the rural polls for the first time, was also not satisfactory. The party lost its home turf in Sivasagar, from where Akhil Gogoi was elected as an MLA in the 2021 Assembly election. In the Sivasagar constituency, while Raijor Dal failed to open its account, the BJP won 11 ZP seats out of 12, and its alliance partner, Asom Gana Parishad, won the remaining one. Raijor Dol managed to win only one seat in the Demow assembly constituency out of 82 anchalik panchayats. The party won three zilla parishad seats and 19 anchalik panchayat seats across the state. Notably, all three ZP seats won by Raijor Dal are part of the Opposition-ruled constituencies: Pabho zila parishad under Naobiocha constituency, Shyamtila Aparia zila parishad under Dalgaon constituency, and Mahamaya zila parishad under Gauripur constituency. The party's victory in anchalik panchayat mostly came from Dhubri, Barpeta, and Morigaon districts — the traditional bastions of Congress or AIUDF.
Most opposition leaders, while criticising the Hindutva agenda of the BJP-led alliances, failed to provide an alternative outline for the voters. They were busy discussing issues such as the state's increasing debt, which hardly resonated at the grassroots. On the contrary, the BJP, without stepping into the campaign rhetoric of the Opposition, made promises to reduce electricity bills, cooking gas prices, and affordable rations of rice and sugar. The panchayat election in Assam shows that without a strong alliance and an alternative politics, the Opposition cannot beat the BJP. Unfortunately, there is a lack of visionary leaders in the opposition parties in Assam who can understand that unity is not only required to win elections but also to hold a strong government accountable.
The writer teaches at DCB Girls' college, Jorhat, Assam