BJP, allies to contest 103 out of 126 seats, will sweep polls in Assam: Himanta

Guwahati, Nov 21 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the BJP and its allies will contest 103 of the state’s 126 assembly seats and asserted that the ruling coalition will sweep the 2026 polls.

Speaking to reporters after the BJP’s state core committee meeting here, Sarma said the party will "comfortably win" the elections on the strength of its development model.

"There is no need to worry about the result," he added.

The BJP won in Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi and now the party will win in Assam again, he said.

''Considering the population pattern of the state, we can contest in 103 seats, but that does not mean that we will win all'', he added.

In a statement earlier in the day, the BJP said the party has decided to contest the forthcoming assembly elections with its alliance partners, aiming to win 103 out of the 126 seats in the state.

''Our footprints will be in 103 seats for sure. We know our limitations and know how far we can go, so we are not making big plans or claims'', he said.

The CM said the BJP expects support from Assamese Muslims but does not anticipate votes from the 'Miya' community, a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims. “If they give, it is well and good, though we do not hope for it,” he added.

BJP has always given opportunity to the youth and in each election, new candidates are given a chance and this time they stand a better chance due to delimitation, which has created new constituencies, he said.

''Earlier, we could contest a maximum of 90 seats, but now due to delimitation, we can give tickets to more youth and women'', the CM said.

The BJP's poll preparations have started and the decision to form 36 election sub-committees has been taken which will be announced in the next few days, he said.

Claiming that the party faces no political challenges, Sarma said, "The BJP has members from all communities. If they had not supported us, the party could not have become such a big organisation. We support the demands of different communities because we are part of them." The core committee meeting was held in the presence of BJP's national general secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh and was attended by Sarma, state party president Dilip Saikia, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, national secretary and MP Kamakhya Tasa, state in-charge Harish Dwivedi, state general secretary (Organisation) Rabindra Raju and other senior leaders.

Prior to the core committee meeting, the CM attended the concluding session of the meeting of the newly appointed coordinators and in-charges of all 126 assembly constituencies and discussed strategies for disseminating government initiatives and achievements among the public through party workers.

Sarma said the state government will take strict measures to curb issues such as polygamy, 'love and land jihad', in the days to come.

He said tough action would also be taken against encroachers of government, forest, PGR, VGR, tribal belt and sattra lands by Bengali-origin Muslims. PTI DG DG MNB