2016 Assam Assembly Election Results - BJP Scripts History, Congress Routed

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday took a massive lead in the Assam Assembly Election and is all set to form government in the state.

BJP chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal is leading in Majuli (ST) constituency in Assam

At 34 %, Assam has the second highest percentage of Muslims among all states. An estimated 10 percent of the state consists of Muslims who have migrated from Bangladesh, and gained Indian citizenship.

The BJP, which lost Bihar last year, changed its strategy dramatically for Assam -it chose local partners and played up state leaders, clearly picking a chief ministerial candidate in Sarbananda
Sonowal.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, a political powerhouse who was a close aide of Mr Gogoi's till he switched loyalties ahead of the election, has said that if the BJP is elected, it will try to bar Muslims of Bangladeshi origin who entered India between its first census in 1951 and 1971  from voting. They can stay but would have to re-apply for citizenship, he said.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, seen as a master strategist with a key role in the Assam victory, has also said the BJP will strengthen a citizen registration programme to track future inflows.

Both Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma have rejected suggestions that the BJP ran a divisive campaign, accusing Muslim politicians like Maulana Badruddin Ajmal who heads the AIUDF, of using the immigrant issue to polarise state politics first.

All the exit polls had given BJP a decisive edge over Congress in the 126-member house.

In the two-phased election, both the BJP-led alliance and Congress had their put in all their might.
Congress's Tarun Gogoi led a spirited campaign across the state. In 2011, he had been elected with 78 seats out of a total of 126.