Nava Thakuria

Many foreign media outlets are seemingly worried over the swiping victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent legislative assembly elections of West Bengal and Assam, which is reflected in their recent outbursts. The nationalist party’s remarkable electoral win in Bengal (securing over 200 seats in 294-member assembly) and Assam (winning 82 seats alone in 126-memebr assembly) were reported in a negative sense by those international news outlets. If the New York Times termed the BJP victory in Bengal as a dangerous expansion of Hindu nationalism, the BBC reported it as a long march of the saffron party into eastern India under the ambitious plan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where The Guardian expressed concern over the weakening of oppositions and  Al Jazeera went ahead by describing the phenomena as the erosion of Indian democracy. Le Monde opined the rise of BJP in eastern India as a threat to Indian secularism, where CNN depicted the victory as a win for polarisation over progress.  The Washington Post, however, commented that the victory would bolster Modi’s political position ahead of the 2029 national elections. Reuters also acknowledged that the BJP got benefits with the Hindu-centric campaigning.

Bangladesh newspapers also admitted that the poll-outcomes would strengthen the ruling saffron party. The Daily Star and Dhaka Tribune apprehended that the voting pattern was influenced by the special intensive revision conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of assembly polls in Bengal, where hundreds of thousands of names (of electorates assuming hardcore supporters of Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress) were erased. Most of the media houses in foreign lands painted Ms Mamata as one of most outspoken critics of Modi and BJP’s religious nationalist agenda, where they apprehended the Bengal victory would only boot the expansionist Hindu-first politics, which came to power to the centre in 2014. The recent series of assembly elections, where voting was also conducted in  Tamil Nadu, Keralam and Puducherry union territory, the BJP gained vote shares in those States too. In contrast, the Indian National Congress party lost its visibility except in Tamil Nadu and Keralam. Meanwhile, the Left aligned  parties faced humiliating defeats and currently no State the country has a government of their ideologies. It’s now only seven out of India’s 28 States remain under the grip of opposition parties.

But the saffron party leaders and workers have many reasons to celebrate the electoral  success in the both eastern Indian States. Millions of BJP supporters now keep an eye on urgent actions initiated by both the governments in Kolkata and Guwahati focusing on sustainable development, welfare and security against the illegal entities from neighbouring Bangladesh. When  Bengal’s new chief minister Suvendu Adhikari declared an urgent initiative to proceed for handing over required lands to fence the India-Bangladesh border (which was strongly opposed by the TMC government for years), Assam government chief  Himanta Biswa Sarma adopted decisions to fulfil the electoral promises including the safeguarding of indigenous population from Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators. The first cabinet meeting of Sarma’s consecutive  second term government on 13 May also approved the draft bill on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for introduction in the upcoming State assembly session scheduled for 21, 22, 25 and 26 May 2026. However, the exercise will exempt the  population belonging to Scheduled Tribes (both hills and plains). Similarly, traditional religious customs, practices and rituals will also be kept outside its purview.

The cabinet also resolved to offer new appointments to two lakh youths in various government departments during the next five years. Avoiding new vehicles for various authorities for the next six months, restricting government officials from visiting abroad (unless for medical grounds) and reducing the number of vehicles in the convoy of Governor, CM, ministers and officials are also on the card. At the same time, only electric vehicles are planned to be hired for the government departments and institutions. The cabinet also decided to organise the closing ceremony of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s birth centenary at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 8 September and a museum dedicated to the legendary Assamese cultural personality is planned at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra premise. 

Good days are expected in this part of the world indeed!