<p>Guwahati: Riding on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's tough "anti-infiltrator" stand and development projects, BJP and its allies in Assam on Monday ensured its third straight term in office by registering a record victory in 102 seats in the 126-member Assembly. </p>.<p>BJP alone bagged 82 seats, 18 more than the magic figure, while two of its regional allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People's Front (BPF) also bettered their seat counts by winning 10 seats each.</p>.<p>All ministers and senior leaders registered victories with strong margins against the Opposition candidates. Two Congress turncoats, Pradyut Bordoloi and Bhupen Kumar Borah, who switched to BJP ahead of the polls, too got elected. </p>.'Jab tak suraj-chand rahega, Bharat hindu rashtra rahega': Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.<p>BJP registered victories in 41 out of 43 seats in Assamese-dominated Upper Assam, a region where Congress-led alliance tried hard to make a comeback after 10 years. In the Bodoland region, BJP and its ally BPF bagged all 15 seats while in Barak Valley, the saffron party won in all nine seats where Hindu Bengalis are deciders. Congress won in the remaining four where Muslim voters calls the shot. </p>.<p>The Opposition Congress was reduced to just 19 seats, its worst performance in the past 25 years with its leader Gaurav Gogoi biting the dust in his debut Assembly poll contest in Jorhat. Gaurav lost to Hitendra Nath Goswami, a BJP veteran, with a margin of 13,182 votes. Other top leaders such as Debabrata Saikia, the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Ripun Bora, former state unit president were also defeated by BJP candidates. </p>.<p>In the Opposition camp, only Akhil Gogoi and Mehbood Mukhtar of Raijor Dal managed to win in Sivasagar and Dhing, a Muslim-majority seat, respectively. The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), another partner in the Congress-led alliance, failed to open its tally this time too. The AJP president, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, lost to BJP's Chakradhar Gogoi in Khowang in Assamese-dominated Dibrugarh district. </p>.<p>"By giving us such a record number of seats, people have once again reposed their faith on the developmental works we have done and the steps taken to protect Assam from the threat of Bangladeshi infiltrators," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters on Monday evening.</p>.<p>Soon becoming the CM in 2021, Sarma intensified an eviction drive targetting the Bengali-speaking Muslims and "pushing back" many to Bangladesh. This, according to observers, helped BJP consolidate the indigenous communities as well as the Hindus against Congress and the Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF. Ajmal's party, which contested in 27 seats alone, manged to win only in two, the worst show since its formation in 2005.</p>.<p>BJP leaders also stated that the cash incentives schemes targeting the women, students and the tea garden workers helped BJP build a vote bank. BJP has provided monthly assistance of Rs. 1,250 to 40 lakh women since 2020 and it promised to increase the same to Rs. 3,000 in the next five-years. "The land patta given for the first time to tea garden workers also helped us retain all the seats in tea gardens," said the BJP leader.</p>.<p>Congress camp including Gaurav Gogoi did not issue any statement regarding the verdict. Congress insiders, however, blamed inexperience of Gaurav as the main reason behind the debacle of the Opposition. </p>
<p>Guwahati: Riding on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's tough "anti-infiltrator" stand and development projects, BJP and its allies in Assam on Monday ensured its third straight term in office by registering a record victory in 102 seats in the 126-member Assembly. </p>.<p>BJP alone bagged 82 seats, 18 more than the magic figure, while two of its regional allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People's Front (BPF) also bettered their seat counts by winning 10 seats each.</p>.<p>All ministers and senior leaders registered victories with strong margins against the Opposition candidates. Two Congress turncoats, Pradyut Bordoloi and Bhupen Kumar Borah, who switched to BJP ahead of the polls, too got elected. </p>.'Jab tak suraj-chand rahega, Bharat hindu rashtra rahega': Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.<p>BJP registered victories in 41 out of 43 seats in Assamese-dominated Upper Assam, a region where Congress-led alliance tried hard to make a comeback after 10 years. In the Bodoland region, BJP and its ally BPF bagged all 15 seats while in Barak Valley, the saffron party won in all nine seats where Hindu Bengalis are deciders. Congress won in the remaining four where Muslim voters calls the shot. </p>.<p>The Opposition Congress was reduced to just 19 seats, its worst performance in the past 25 years with its leader Gaurav Gogoi biting the dust in his debut Assembly poll contest in Jorhat. Gaurav lost to Hitendra Nath Goswami, a BJP veteran, with a margin of 13,182 votes. Other top leaders such as Debabrata Saikia, the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Ripun Bora, former state unit president were also defeated by BJP candidates. </p>.<p>In the Opposition camp, only Akhil Gogoi and Mehbood Mukhtar of Raijor Dal managed to win in Sivasagar and Dhing, a Muslim-majority seat, respectively. The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), another partner in the Congress-led alliance, failed to open its tally this time too. The AJP president, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, lost to BJP's Chakradhar Gogoi in Khowang in Assamese-dominated Dibrugarh district. </p>.<p>"By giving us such a record number of seats, people have once again reposed their faith on the developmental works we have done and the steps taken to protect Assam from the threat of Bangladeshi infiltrators," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters on Monday evening.</p>.<p>Soon becoming the CM in 2021, Sarma intensified an eviction drive targetting the Bengali-speaking Muslims and "pushing back" many to Bangladesh. This, according to observers, helped BJP consolidate the indigenous communities as well as the Hindus against Congress and the Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF. Ajmal's party, which contested in 27 seats alone, manged to win only in two, the worst show since its formation in 2005.</p>.<p>BJP leaders also stated that the cash incentives schemes targeting the women, students and the tea garden workers helped BJP build a vote bank. BJP has provided monthly assistance of Rs. 1,250 to 40 lakh women since 2020 and it promised to increase the same to Rs. 3,000 in the next five-years. "The land patta given for the first time to tea garden workers also helped us retain all the seats in tea gardens," said the BJP leader.</p>.<p>Congress camp including Gaurav Gogoi did not issue any statement regarding the verdict. Congress insiders, however, blamed inexperience of Gaurav as the main reason behind the debacle of the Opposition. </p>