On Tuesday, 12th May, Assam witnessed a major political moment as Himanta Biswa Sarma took oath as the Chief Minister of the state for a second consecutive term. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Veterinary Ground in the Khanapara area of Guwahati and was attended by a large gathering of political leaders, party workers, supporters and invited guests. With this development, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed its government in Assam for the third straight time, further strengthening its political hold in the northeastern state.

Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Himanta Biswa Sarma and four newly inducted ministers. The atmosphere at the venue remained celebratory throughout the programme as senior BJP leaders and NDA allies gathered to mark the occasion. Several chief ministers and deputy chief ministers from BJP-ruled states and Union Territories also attended the event, underlining the significance of the ceremony for the NDA leadership.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present during the oath-taking programme along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister Pabitra Margherita and BJP national president Nitin Nabin also attended the ceremony. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, along with many other NDA chief ministers and deputy chief ministers, joined the gathering in Guwahati for the swearing-in event.

The programme also saw the participation of US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. Besides political leaders, industrialists, religious figures and senior BJP leaders were also present at the venue. The ceremony reflected the growing political importance of Assam within the NDA’s broader national framework.

Four New Ministers Sworn Into the Assam Government

Along with Himanta Biswa Sarma, four MLAs took oath as ministers in the new Assam government. The ministers included BJP leaders Rameswar Teli and Ajanta Neog, Asom Gana Parishad leader Atul Bora and Bodoland People’s Front MLA Charan Boro. Their induction highlighted the NDA’s alliance structure in the state, where different coalition partners continue to hold representation in the government.

Former minister and senior BJP leader Ranjeet Kumar Dass has also been named as the NDA candidate for the post of Speaker of the Assam Assembly. Party leaders stated that the complete expansion of the cabinet and the full list of ministers would be finalised after discussions with BJP national president Nitin Nabin.

Massive Security Deployment Across Guwahati

Considering the presence of the Prime Minister, Union ministers and several chief ministers, heavy security arrangements were made around the Khanapara area ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. Barricades were installed in multiple locations while traffic diversions were introduced to manage the movement of leaders, guests and security convoys. Multi-layered security deployment was also arranged across the venue and nearby areas to ensure that the event concluded smoothly without any disruption.

With this swearing-in ceremony, Himanta Biswa Sarma has become the only non-Congress leader in Assam to serve as chief minister for a second consecutive term under the NDA government. The development is being viewed as another important political milestone for the BJP and its allies in the state.

This latest electoral victory is considered highly significant for the BJP for several reasons. Firstly, it marks the first time that the BJP has managed to secure a majority in Assam on its own strength. Secondly, the party has now become the first non-Congress political force in Assam to win three consecutive Assembly elections. This achievement has also made Assam only the fifth state in the country where the BJP has successfully completed an electoral hat-trick.

These developments indicate how deeply the BJP has expanded its roots in Assam over the last decade. From once being a relatively small player in the state’s political landscape, the party has steadily transformed itself into the dominant political force in Assam. Political observers believe this rise did not happen overnight, but through a carefully planned political strategy that combined ideology, welfare politics, alliance-building and organisational expansion.

One major feature of the BJP’s rise in Assam has been its ideological positioning. The party initially entered Assam’s political space by connecting itself with long-standing cultural and regional concerns such as illegal immigration, protection of Assamese identity and preservation of language. These issues had already been central to Assamese sub-nationalist politics for many years. The BJP presented these concerns through a softer and more acceptable version of Hindutva politics, which gradually attracted large sections of people towards the party.

Over time, as more people became politically comfortable with the BJP’s ideological framework, the party slowly introduced stronger and more hard-line elements of its politics. During its second term, this included policies and decisions such as the closure of madrassas, eviction drives that critics described as communally targeted and even policies allowing indigenous people to obtain gun licences in areas facing what the government described as “demographic challenges”. According to political analysts, these developments contributed to a gradual but steady consolidation of Hindu votes behind the BJP. Across the last three Assembly elections, the BJP’s support base in Hindu-majority constituencies has continued to increase.

At the same time, the party also focused heavily on development-oriented politics with projects that carried strong public visibility. Large bridges over the Brahmaputra river, the construction of a new airport terminal in Guwahati and the establishment of a semiconductor industry project were repeatedly highlighted by the BJP as examples of development under its government. In a region where many people had long complained about lack of infrastructure and economic backwardness, these visible projects helped create an impression among many voters that the BJP had delivered more development work than previous governments.

Alongside visible infrastructure projects, the BJP also attempted to strengthen its connect with ordinary people through governance reforms and welfare schemes. Public recruitment processes were made comparatively more transparent, while expansion of e-governance and procedural changes improved access to government systems for many citizens. The government also widened the reach of welfare benefits, helping the party build support at a personal and household level.

Schemes such as CM’s Atmanirbhar Asom Abhiyan 2.0 launched in 2023, which provides financial assistance to unemployed youth to start businesses, and Swahid Kushal Konwar Sarbajanin Briddha Pension Asoni introduced in 2018 for senior citizens, reflected efforts to build support among different social groups. Considerable focus was also placed on women-oriented welfare schemes.

Political observers believe that the Orunodoi scheme launched in 2020 played a major role during the 2021 Assembly elections. Later, newer versions of the scheme, along with programmes like Lakhpati Baideo (2024) and Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan (2024), further strengthened the BJP’s support among women voters. Reports also suggested that the Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan had inspired the Bihar government to introduce a similar programme ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

At the organisational level, the BJP also adopted a strategy of large-scale political co-optation in Assam. While the party is known for its organisational machinery, Assam became an example of how a party could rapidly strengthen itself by bringing leaders and workers from rival political parties into its fold when a strong traditional cadre base was not available.

After its victory in the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP expanded this strategy further. The success of the Assam model encouraged the party to attempt similar political expansion in northeastern states such as Manipur and Tripura, where it also lacked a strong traditional cadre network.

Although high-profile defections by leaders like Himanta Biswa Sarma and Bhupen Borah received major media attention, many lesser-known leaders and grassroots workers also shifted to the BJP over the years. These defections significantly expanded the party’s support structure across Assam. The BJP accepted leaders from various political backgrounds, including the Left-leaning tribal party Autonomous State Demand Committee, Muslim-centric political groups such as the All India United Democratic Front and leaders from the Congress party.

As more opposition leaders joined the BJP, the opposition structure in Assam gradually weakened. Apart from leaders like Gaurav Gogoi and a few others, many prominent Congress leaders in Assam eventually shifted to the BJP, helping the ruling party strengthen its position even further in different constituencies. Because of this, opposition attacks on issues such as corruption, communalism and misgovernance often failed to create major electoral damage at the constituency level.

Many political commentators today credit Himanta Biswa Sarma’s political leadership for the BJP’s continued success in Assam. However, analysts also point out that behind this success lies a larger strategy of political co-optation and network-building. Through Sarma and several other leaders who joined the BJP from rival parties, the BJP not only gained experienced political faces but also inherited local organisational structures, financial support systems, intellectual resources and media networks that helped the party emerge as a dominant political force in Assam.

The BJP’s handling of alliances has also played a key role in its political success. The party maintained its long-standing alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and avoided aggressively weakening the party’s remaining Hindu support base. The AGP still carries symbolic importance among sections of Assamese society, and the BJP has continued to use that association strategically.

At the same time, the BJP also demonstrated political pragmatism in the Bodoland region. When the influence of its ally United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) started declining, the BJP quickly formed a pre-poll alliance with its rival, the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). Despite this shift, the BJP also managed to persuade the UPPL to remain within the NDA fold by supporting its Rajya Sabha bid even after contesting elections separately.

Due to all these political, social and organisational factors, the BJP has managed to build a wide social coalition in Assam. Election trends over the last several years suggest that the party has developed strong support among hill tribes such as Karbis and Dimasas, plain tribes including Bodos, Rabhas and Misings, as well as among Ahoms, Morans, Muttocks and tea tribe communities.

For a political party that was once viewed as being disconnected from Assam’s complex ethno-tribal social structure, this transformation represents a major political shift. Together, these communities have contributed towards strengthening a broader Hindu consolidation in the state.

What Assam’s political developments reveal is that the BJP’s rise has not depended on just one factor alone. Instead, ideology, welfare politics, visible development projects, alliance management, organisational expansion and social coalition-building have all worked together in an interconnected manner. Political analysts believe this combination has made the BJP extremely strong in Assam while also making it difficult for the opposition to mount an effective challenge. In the coming years, if opposition parties want to regain lost political ground in Assam, they may need to develop a strategy capable of countering the BJP simultaneously on all these different fronts.