BJP’s rapid rise in Assam is more pronounced in ST seats

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) waits for the counting on May 4 to see if it will retain power in Assam for a third consecutive term, a look at the Assembly polls since 2006 in the biggest northeastern State shows how sudden the growth of the BJP has been and how the growth is more pronounced in the seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Assam has a total of 126 seats, of which 16 are reserved for the STs, who account for 12.4% of the State’s total population of 3.12 crore as per the 2011 Census. Until 2006, the BJP had not won a single ST seat in Assam in any of the Assembly polls.