Himanta Biswa Sarma (Image/ANI)

Guwahati: Double blow at the top. Defeated by Gaurav Gogoi and Debabrata Saikia. A campaign based on sharp attacks – including on the CM’s family – and demands for justice for Zubeen Garg. Very little to show on the ballot. The Congress is left with a narrow, largely Muslim-dominated base and shrinking reach in Assam.The party won 19 seats – all Muslim-majority constituencies. Its footprint, once tight to the pockets once shared with the AIUDF, has now faded, giving the Congress a consolidated but limited vote bank.cm Himanta Biswa SarmaThe process of continuously sending messages appears to have ended. He branded the Congress a ‘Miya’ party – a term for the Bengali-speaking Muslims of Bangladesh. The label stuck, weakening the Congress’s ability to expand among indigenous tribal and Hindu voters.Delimitation in 2023 further aggravated the problem. Muslim-dominated seats dropped from 35 to 22, limiting the party’s electoral scope. Muslims account for about 30% of the Assam electorate – about 75 lakh voters – and remain influential in these constituencies, but the concentration has left the Congress politically isolated.Lately the six-party alliance failed to change the momentum. Losses in upper and northern Assam underlined the decline. Assam Congress chief Gogoi and opposition leader Saikia – sons of former CMs Tarun Gogoi and Hiteshwar Saikia respectively – both lost in their family strongholds.This decision is tough for Congress. The path to comeback lies through constituencies it no longer controls.The restlessness within the Congress came to the surface. Gogoi did not comment. Party’s Ripun Bora promised a review. “EMV manipulation is possible – the results do not match Gen Z’s anger over the delay in justice for Zubeen or the fury over price hikes,” he said, adding that many people would question the results as the CM had predicted around 100 seats for the NDA, as exit polls showed.