Urmi Bhattacharjee

Guwahati, Apr 3: As Assam moves closer to elections, the campaign on the ground is being defined not just by issues but by how parties are choosing to fight.And right now, the contrast is stark.

The BJP has rolled out a full-spectrum, high-voltage campaign, deploying top national leadership across constituencies.

From Prime Minister-level outreach to a list of nearly 40 star campaigners, the party is leaving little to chance.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has already addressed rallies in Sonitpur, Nalbari and Jagiroad, while also holding roadshows in Guwahati, sharpening the campaign around identity and national security.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has campaigned in Palashbari, pitching infrastructure and development, while BJP national president Nitin Nabin led rallies in Tinsukia’s Margherita, backing local candidates and projecting confidence in a third term.

At the state level, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma continues to anchor the campaign, with multiple rallies and a central role in coordinating visits of national leaders. The strategy is clear – saturation, visibility, and message discipline.

For the BJP, this is not just mobilisation but a narrative control.

In contrast, the Congress campaign appears far more measured and restrained.

While senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi have addressed rallies and sharpened attacks on both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister, the overall presence of national-level campaigners remains limited compared to the BJP’s scale.

The focus instead has shifted to manifesto-driven messaging and local outreach, with leaders like Gaurav Gogoi taking charge of constituency-level mobilisation.This raises a key political question.

Is Congress holding back its star power as a deliberate strategy, choosing to localise the contest or is it constrained in matching the BJP’s campaign machinery?

Because in a conventional election cycle, the opposition would be expected to escalate visibility closer to polling. Here, that surge is noticeably muted.

There may be a method to this.Congress could be attempting to avoid over-centralisation, especially in a state where identity and regional equations play a decisive role. By keeping the campaign grounded, it may be trying to project itself as locally rooted rather than leader-dependent.

But the trade-off is equally visible.

In an election increasingly driven by optics and momentum, a quieter campaign risks being overshadowed.

Meanwhile, a third layer is quietly emerging.

Independent candidates and smaller parties are beginning to shape contests at the constituency level, particularly in areas where local issues outweigh party narratives. In tight seats, they could act as a decisive third force, cutting into vote shares of both major alliances.

The overall mood, for now, remains open.

The BJP is pushing scale, speed and visibility.

Congress is betting on calibration and ground connect.

And voters are watching both not just for promises, but for presence.

Because in this election, the campaign itself is becoming the story.

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