Assam bastion lost in bypoll, Congress leader blames ‘beef’, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma swoops down

Over the weekend, visiting different areas in North and Upper Assam, Hussain alleged that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP had “betrayed” the Hindutva they claim to espouse by “offering beef” and “pursuing Bengali Muslim voters”. Speaking in the presence of Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah in Lakhimpur’s Ranganadi, he said this was also a betrayal of the “ethnic Assamese communities” which populate North and Upper Assam, and called Sarma “two-faced”.

Targeting Bengali Muslims as “outsiders” is one of the central planks of the BJP’s politics in Assam, making this a slippery slope for the Congress. The suggestion that the community devours beef also plays into Hindutva ideology and stereotyping.

Not surprisingly, Sarma turned Hussain’s comments on their head Sunday, saying that his government was willing to introduce a beef ban in the state if the Congress “asks for it”. “I want to tell Rakibul Hussain that beef should be banned, as he himself said it is wrong… So, I will write to Bhupen Borah and ask him if he also advocates banning beef in line with Rakibul Hussain, and just inform me. I will ban beef completely in the next Assembly (accordingly). Then the BJP, AGP, CPI(M), nobody will be able to offer… Hindus, Muslims and Christians, all should stop eating beef, and all problems will be solved,” the CM said.

At the gathering in Ranganadi, Hussain said: “The Himanta Biswa Sarma that you, the people of North Assam and Upper Assam, recognise and understand has a very different face in Lower Assam… He says he does not want ‘miya (a pejorative term for Bengali-Muslims) votes’, but you will not believe that just to win, he killed a cow and gave a feast.”

Hussain said that Sarma had to resort to such tactics as the BJP had lost favour with groups like the Chutias and Moran and Motoks, as well as Bengali Hindus in the Barak Valley, because of the changes in constituencies following last year’s delimitation, and because of the non-fulfilment of the promise of Scheduled Tribe status for the Moran, Motoks, Chutias, Tai Ahoms, tea tribes and Koch-Rajbongshis.

“After he found out all this… he wants ‘miyas’ now… This time he will win in Samaguri, Rupohi, Dhing and Lahorighat (Muslim-majority seats) because he will lose in Dhemaji, Ranganadi, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Chabua, Golaghat, Dholai and Silchar. Because he sees this, he is trying to compensate with these Muslim-majority seats,” the Congress leader said.

Hussain gave variations of the same speech at programmes in different parts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Dibrugarh.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Congress had lost a lot of ground in this region, winning only five seats in Upper Assam and North Assam. Most of its wins were in Central and Lower Assam, and a few in the Barak Valley.

CM Sarma has dubbed the Samaguri result, and a Hindu candidate’s win from the seat, a “milestone” in the state’s politics. He has also claimed that this was just the start and that in the 2026 Assembly elections, the BJP would make inroads in five Muslim-majority constituencies: North Karimganj, South Karimganj, Laharighat, Rupohi and Samaguri.

BJP leaders, including Sarma, have claimed that this was a vindication of their policy of “Justice for all, appeasement for none”, citing an eviction drive in a Bengali-Muslim village in Samaguri in September which had turned violent and resulted in the death of two residents.

As the question of beef took over the debate, the Assam Congress chief argued Monday that the Congress had brought the issue up because of the BJP’s own claims. “The Congress does not interfere in the traditions of any community, caste, religion, in their eating, clothing, traditions… But it is the BJP and RSS which keep talking about gau puja, gau mata (cow as sacred)… People eat what they want, be it vegetarian, non-vegetarian…” Borah said.

A senior Congress leader admitted that this line should have been avoided by the party, and that the Samaguri loss does not reflect a significant change in voter behviour in the state. “This strategy will not benefit the Congress, but only the BJP either way. It is Hussain saving face because the outcome was a mandate against him, but the party has also endorsed this. We should fight on our own strengths. The outcome does not show a loss of support among minority voters, and so why should the party antagonize them? It never works to try to outdo the BJP on such issues,” said the leader.

Another leader said that the main reason for the Congress’s defeat in Samaguri was wrong candidate selection. “Because the young boy (Tanzil) was nominated, senior aides of Rakibul joined the BJP and campaigned against him, saying he does not give political representation to locals. It is not a reflection of minority sentiments.”