Guwahati: “Why should Miyas be allowed to stay in Assam? Aren’t they illegal immigrants? They should be sent back. It takes time to identify and then complete the official process. But it must be done,” Rohan Das, 26, says. Das is sitting at a tea stall in Chandrapur, in the outskirts of Guwahati. “We must not however forget they [Bangladeshi Muslims] are humans too. The language the chief minister uses is not right. There’s something called humanity,” Das adds, underlining that indigenous Muslims have “nothing to worry” since they can “shows their papers and continue to stay in the country”. “It is only Miya Muslims from Bangladesh who should be sent back.”Das adds that Bangladeshi Hindus have every right to stay in the state since “this country is for Hindus, and they [Bangladeshi Hindus] can come to stay here whenever they want.”§In the past few years, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s rhetoric against Muslims has mirrored his policies. In what is systemic apartheid, he has called for the economic degradation of a whole people, and has made national and international news. Last November, the Assam legislature passed a Bill banning and criminalising polygamous marriages, widely seen as targeting the Muslim community though he has denied the allegation. It is applicable statewide except in Sixth Schedule areas and to members of Scheduled Tribes as defined under the constitution.Sarma posits himself as the voice of Assam and yet, not all Assamese feel that his language is theirs. A look at Guwahati and its suburbs indicate that people are uncomfortable with the constant dehumanisation of Bangladeshi Muslims, in particular and feel Sarma should stop making petty statements.Sitting next to Rohan Das at the tea stall, Talim Uddin, 40, intently listens to the conversation. After Das finishes talking, he asks, “Do you know how many Muslims died fighting for the independence of this country? Why do you want Muslims to show their identity card all the time? You are welcoming all Hindus but don’t you remember this country belongs to so many communities, not just one. Even I don’t want any Bangladeshi Muslim to sit on my father’s [ancestral] property but saying only one community is not welcome is wrong.”Das repeats he doesn’t have any problem with indigenous Muslims but only wants Miyas to be sent away. “They are illegally staying here and that’s what the government says and we can’t allow anyone to stay illegally.”Das, a voter in New Guwahati constituency, is an architect. Talim Uddin owns a mobile shop. He will cast his vote in the Dimoria constituency. In New Guwahati there is a triangular fight between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Diplu Ranjan Sharmah, Congress’s Santanu Bora and ex-mayor of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Kushal Kumar Sarmah, who has entered the race as an independent candidate after the Congress didn’t field him. A poster of the BJP says, “Once again BJP sarkaar.” Photo: Tamanna Naseer.Meanwhile, Dimoria is a Scheduled Caste-reserved constituency. Tapan Das from Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is contesting as a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance and the Congress have fielded Kishor Kumar Baruah. This new constituency comprises some parts of the previous Dispur constituency. A mechanism for proper garbage management, construction of tar roads and water supply are three of the main demands of the local voters. §On March 27, at an election rally in Dhakuakhana in Lakhimpur, Sarma stated: “This time, we will break the very backbone of the Bangladeshi Miyas, so that they cannot dare the Assamese people.” He claimed his government had already “broken the hands and legs” of such people politically over the past five years.Sarma has defended his stance on multiple occasions saying he targets only “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh, not all Muslims, and has stated that by using the term Miya, he only refers to those who have entered India illegally.On February 26, Gauhati high court issued a notice to Sarma after hearing multiple petitions seeking action against him for alleged hate speeches targeting Muslims.On the sidelines of an official event in Digboi in Tinsukia district on January 27, Sarma said: “Let Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer.” Later on January 27, the Assam chief minister told reporters, “Whoever can give trouble in any way should give, including you. In a rickshaw, if the fare is Rs 5, give them Rs 4. Only if they face troubles will they leave Assam… These are not issues. Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP are directly against Miyas. What is the point of telling us that these are issues? We are saying it openly; we are not hiding it. Earlier, people were scared; now I myself am encouraging people to keep giving troubles. If you don’t trouble them, yesterday I found that they have even reached Duliajan (a town in Eastern Assam). So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.”In the BJP’s manifesto, the party has promised to introduce Uniform Civil Code (UCC), if voted back to power and bring a law to end the Sangh Parivar’s bogeys of ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’ – imagined conspiracies in which they claim Muslims try to convert Hindu women and take over land, respectively.§In Beltola market in Guwahati, Arun Kalita*, 50, a government employee says he is undecided which candidate he will vote for in Dispur constituency. “But I would like to say that this government did some work at least,” he mentions, referring to the newly constructed flyovers in Guwahati with a proud smile.When asked if he has heard Sarma’s recent statements and speeches, his body language changes. “He is doing politics, we don’t do politics. I don’t support such statements,” Kalita says. Borthakur is seen on a campaign trail. Photo: X/@borthakur_mira.In Dispur, there is a triangular contest between Congress’s Mira Borthakur, BJP nominee and Congress turncoat Pradyut Bordoloi and former BJP leader and independent candidate Jayanta Das. It is one of the most interesting contests in the state as Borthakur raises the issues of urban floods, jobs and development, in general while Bordoloi banks on the chief minister’s popularity and infrastructure projects. Das is a popular local face and is relying on his old support base. ‘What’s the double engine sarkar doing?’ “There will be a good contest in New Guwahati. Some people may support the BJP because Himanta has built infrastructure,” Mala Karmakar*, 62, a retired government teacher said.Calling Sarma a “good administrator” she mentioned that what she doesn’t like is the “language he uses for his own political benefits”. “The Ministry of Home Affairs said they will send illegal immigrants back. They will chase them away. If they are occupying government land, grazing land, then they should be sent away. What is the double engine sarkar doing since the last two terms?” Karmakar questions. She added: “The top leaders, including our chief minister, are busy making communally sensitive statements. These could have repercussions. Assam is a peaceful state. Himanta shouldn’t say such things.”On being reminded that Assam saw Nellie massacre in which about 2000 Bengali Muslims died, Karmakar added, “But that was long ago [in 1983]. When did you hear about Hindu Muslim riots in the state in the recent past?” In Assam, Muslims comprise 34% of the state’s population. Only Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshadweep, which are Union Territories, have a higher percentage of Muslims. Dhruba Pratim Sharma, head of the Political Science department in Gauhati University suggested that the BJP uses communal rhetoric to ensure almost the entire Hindu votes remain with them. “They know Muslims won’t vote for them. They say we don’t want Miya votes. It is a tactic to tap Hindu votes. Remember BJP barely won one seat here and one seat there before 2014. They penetrated in the state only very recently.” ‘Ignoring Muslims not practical’Deepshikha Chaliha, 25, is an MA student in Gauhati University. She is a voter in Dispur constituency. “Mira Borthakur is a very good candidate. You will see more people supporting her here. I’m yet to decide whom I will vote for.” Chaliha pointed out that though the government has built many flyovers, people who use those bridges do benefit from them but sometimes those who walk under those bridges have to face problems. “Water falls on people who walk under some of the new flyovers due to poor construction.”Guwahati has 20 flyovers, eight rail overbridges, and three bridges over the river Brahmaputra. Last month, videos of the newly inaugurated Dighalipukhuri-Noonmati flyover leaking after rainfall in Guwahati were shared on social media. The newly inaugurated Chandmari flyover is seen. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.On the question of Miya Muslims, Chaliha explained: “The chief minister said we should not give business to Miya Muslims. Even if we believe they aren’t right and we should ignore them, it isn’t practical. When they don’t work for two days during their festivals we suffer. From selling vegetables to meat to autos – they are engaged in so many services which we have to depend on, and this the chief minister should understand.”Kripanand Sharma, 55, who owns a small glass shop in Pathar Guari in Guwahati echoed similar sentiments. He underlined that Muslims “don’t hesitate to do any work”. Sharma migrated to Guwahati from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh around two decades ago. “Why should we not give Muslims work? What is this mentality? This is neither right nor logical. Congress is only better. We can stay away from all this jhanjat (mess). BJP is not for the middle class. If they return to power, we will become poorer, our problems will not end, only big businesses will make money. They only talk such nonsense to distract us.” He underlined that Sarma has no right to comment on Kunki Chowdhury or her mother’s food preference. “Can any BJP leader ask people in Arunachal Pradesh not to have beef? They should allow people to live peacefully everywhere.”Kunki Chowdhury is the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) – which is in alliance with the Congress – candidate from Central Guwahati. On April 2, chief minister Sarma claimed that her mother Sujata Gurung Chowdhury had posted photos of consuming beef on Instagram and made a remark that, according to him, challenged Sanatan Dharma. Sarma also said her post violated the Cattle Preservation Act and that it could land her in jail for three years. Kunki Chowdhury called the allegations baseless. Against her, the BJP has fielded Vijay Kumar Gupta, who is Hindi-speaking and non-Assamese. Although there is a slight resentment among the Assamese community against Gupta, the saffron party is considering it a safe move considering Fancy Bazar, Pan Bazar, and GS Road – areas with a sizeable Hindi speaking population fall in this constituency. What makes this contest interesting is 27-year-old Kunki Chowdhury, a postgraduate from University College London is pitted against 70-year-old veteran leader Gupta. Next to Sharma’s shop, Mohammed Sirajul, 40, has a sofa store. He is a voter in Central Guwahati. Sirajul’s father moved to Guwahati from rural Bihar decades ago, even before he was born. “No matter what any politician says I have never faced any problem in my business – 95% of my customers are Hindus, more than 95% in fact and I go to everyone’s houses for work. Nobody ever behaved badly,” he states with confidence. Talim Uddin, however, is cautious and feels that the chief minister’s statements can leave a deep impact on the social atmosphere in the state which might take generations to change. A question of humanity“It doesn’t look nice when a leader talks like that. I can talk like that, but he [Himanta] needs to respect the post and speak properly though I agree that Miyas have to be sent back,” Binay Lahkar, 45, a bookseller in Zubeen Kshetra in Sonapur, Guwahati says.He is a voter from Barkhetri constituency in Nalbari district. When asked who will form the government in Assam, Lahkar drew an analogy and meandered: “Have you ever seen people sitting on trees? They see where the crowd is going and then move in that direction. That’s what is happening in Assam. Everyone is seeing glossy overbridges from the top and some roads and getting attracted. Meanwhile, the state is being sold to outsiders. Adani and Ambani are taking over the country and here too [they are there]. Everyone talks about one kg free ration but the five extra kg that is needed is very expensive. That’s what the scenario is. But some work is definitely getting done [in Assam].”Hearing Lahkar talk, Pramila, 50 retorts, “Maybe Mama was angry that’s why he said something he shouldn’t have said. Mama is good but we don’t want to get into hitting and troubling Miyas. That’s not something I support.” The Assam chief minister has cultivated a support base among the women voters in the state.Women browse roadside stalls outside Zubeen Khetra in Sonapur, Guwahati. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.Days before the election dates were announced, the government gave Rs 9,000 each to 4 million women under the Orunodoi 3.0 scheme. It was initially launched during the COVID-19 period and Rs 830 per month was given to 1.8 million women. On March 10, the government disbursed Rs 3,600 crore – instalments of Rs 1,250 for the first four months of 2026 and a special festival pay out for Rongali Bihu. Anima Kalita, 46, runs a shop in Chandrapur market selling cloth materials. She is a beneficiary of multiple government schemes, received Rs 9,000 under Orunodoi and Rs 10,000 under the Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan, seed capital provided to eligible SHG women members. Her son recently got a government job, she stressed, “without offering any bribe.”People are seen standing outside the Chandrapur market in the outskirts of Guwahati. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.“I am extremely grateful to this government. I could fill my shop with raw material only because I have received funds from the government. I feel safe, I want this government to be re-elected. They have promised more things like the Lakhpat Didi Abhiyan,” she says. Kalita mentioned that she only knows what the BJP is offering and has no knowledge of the Congress manifesto. Although she didn’t disclose if she has been asked to campaign for the ruling party, several women engaged with SHGs who have received funds from the government confirmed to The Wire that they were asked to attend BJP meetings on multiple occasions and promote the party among voters.On the issue of Sarma making derogatory remarks against Miyas, Kalita refused to comment. “Don’t ask me about this. I don’t want to talk about this.” When pressed further, she adds, “Everyone should live together. While visiting a doctor we don’t see if a doctor is Muslim or Hindu, we just go to avail the service. There’s no difference in blood.” Arti Nath Choudhury, 29 is a home maker. She moved from Chandrapur from Nalbari district post marriage two years ago and isn’t a beneficiary of any of the government schemes but supports the Sarma-led government because “they help women”. “Roads are good, bridges are there. But the problem is everything is expensive.” Like others, Choudhury had strong words on the chief minister’s views on Miyas. “We have to consider humanity. It is just wrong to say that any community’s or group of people’s backbone will be broken. It is just wrong. How can we say all Muslims are the same? Are all Hindus the same? Aren’t there good and bad people everywhere?” *Names (Arun Kalita and Mala Karmakar) have been changed on request.