The Congress party, led by the formidable Ibobi Singh running for his third term as chief minister, commanded 42% of the popular vote. Five years later, BJP’s vote has increased to more than 36%, taking it beyond the Congress’s figure of 35.1%. In the 2016 Assam assembly elections, the Congress had a bigger vote share than the BJP, but it got only 26 seats against BJP’s 60. BJP’s alliance partners (Assam Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front) ensured that it was comfortably past the halfway mark in the assembly. BJP’s unbeaten track record in government formation in the North-East since 2014 should worry incumbent governments in other states in the region.

Source: Mint March 16, 2017 08:10 UTC