Gaurav Gogoi, President of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, raised concerns over administrative lapses as early vote counts show the BJP leading [1].
These allegations surface during a critical transition for the 126-seat Assam Assembly [2]. The results will determine if the BJP-led NDA maintains its grip on the state or if the Congress party can capitalize on a perceived desire for change.
Counting began at 8 a.m. [3] across 40 centers located in 35 districts [4]. Early distributions showed the BJP ahead in 13 seats, the AGP ahead in two seats, and Congress ahead in four seats [5].
Gogoi said he remains confident that the Congress party could still win the election. However, he flagged several issues regarding the integrity of the process, including the insecure storage of unused electronic voting machines (EVMs) and alleged bias by certain officers acting as agents for the BJP [1].
The Congress leader also cited assaults on candidates and general administrative failures. Despite these concerns, Gogoi said, "There's a wave of optimism building across Assam in favour of change" [6].
The early trends show Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma maintaining a lead in Jalukbari, while Gogoi trails in Jorhat [5]. The single-phase election took place on April 9, 2026 [7].
“There's a wave of optimism building across Assam in favour of change.”
The tension between early numerical leads and allegations of systemic bias reflects a polarized political climate in Assam. While the BJP-led NDA holds a significant early advantage, the Congress party's focus on administrative lapses suggests a strategy of challenging the legitimacy of the results if the margin of victory is narrow or contested in key districts.
