After delimitation, NDA likely to cross 100 seats in upcoming state polls: Assam CM

Guwahati: Delimitation has increased chances of NDA winning the state assembly elections by a huge margin, potentially crossing the 100-seat mark, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.Sarma said BJP and its allies are now in a more favourable position and could win up to 103 seats post-delimitation, compared to the saffron alliance’s expectations of wining 90 out of 126 seats in previous assembly polls.The 2026 assembly polls will be the first in the state after assembly seats were redrawn in 2023 during delimitation based on the 2001 census data. Besides reshaping constituencies and altering reserved representation, as many as 19 assembly seats were renamed during the delimitation process. Political analysts say many seats were freed from minority voters’ influence, which was a decisive factor.An analyst said compared to the 2021 assembly election, Muslim voters will no longer be a determining factor in around 12 to 13 seats across lower, central and south Assam districts.Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a govt event in Kamrup (Metro) district on Sunday, Sarma said BJP and its allies could gain a similar number of seats in 2026 polls.“I will not predict any specific number. But we have winning prospects in 103 assembly seats this time. Previously, the winning possibility was in 90 seats, but after delimitation this possibility went up in 13 to 15 more seats,” Sarma said. He said in these 103 seats, BJP or its allies will contest with full confidence. He also said in the remaining around 22 seats, NDA partners have little chance of winning and will participate only as a “symbolic contest”.“Of the 103, people can reward us with 100 out of 100, 90 out of 100, or 80 out of 100. How many seats people will give, they will decide,” Sarma said.Though the number of assembly seats in the state remains the same after delimitation, some constituencies were reshaped and renamed. Sarma said new candidates will contest for BJP from these newly named constituencies.