Pradip Dutta Roy

The healthy democratic environment of Assam is gradually being polluted. In this election, it is worth reflecting on how much damage has been done to democratic dignity through personality-centric attacks. In some cases, it appears that individuals have become more important than parties themselves. We have so far observed that elections are fought on party policies and ideologies. But defaming a candidate by spreading rumors about them and humiliating them publicly—such incidents were not observed earlier, but have been seen in this election.

Additionally, incidents where party ideology has been abandoned and individuals have joined other parties to secure nominations have also become unprecedented in Assam. While incidents of personal attacks have been observed in the Brahmaputra Valley, such incidents have not been seen in the Barak Valley. The politics of Barak still retains a considerable sense of decorum. Although there are instances of one candidate criticizing another during campaigning, such remarks have not crossed the limits of decency.

However, in the Brahmaputra Valley, issues such as personal food habits, family background, and other private matters have been used to create confusion among voters. On the surface, these actions appear to be of very low moral standard, as they have no relevance to electoral gains or losses.

Cultural figures such as music legends Bhupen Hazarika and Zubeen Garg have successfully taken Assam’s cultural heritage to the world stage and attracted global attention through it. However, in the political arena, the aggressive manner in which the present Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has attacked opposition candidates such as Gaurav Gogoi, Akhil Gogoi, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, and Kuki Choudhury has projected Assam negatively at the national level. Although opposition leaders have responded, their responses have not been equally strong, and their voices have not reached the public effectively through the media.

In party politics, it is natural for one party to criticize another’s policies and highlight failures. But using personal defamation as a tool to gain electoral advantage is beyond the bounds of decency. Conscious citizens have noticed this, and voters may not view it favorably. The final outcome will be known only after the election results, when it becomes clear whether people have accepted or rejected such personality-centric attacks.

Earlier, Assamese politics had a very strong culture of mutual respect. It was often seen that offices of different political parties existed side by side within the same locality. Workers from one office would interact normally with workers from another. Even candidates from different parties would maintain cordial relationships and exchange polite conversations. In the Barak Valley, such political courtesy has always existed to a large extent.

There are also examples where Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev, BJP leader Kabindra Purkayastha, and CPM leader Nurul Huda were seen together in the same frame by journalists. Although they had ideological differences, their personal relationships were cordial. While they strongly criticized each other in elections, they did not engage in personal attacks or defamation.

However, this picture of Assamese politics has gradually started changing. Although the Brahmaputra Valley has seen a rise in personal allegations and defamation, the Barak Valley has remained relatively different in this respect. Political courtesy still survives there. Candidates have generally shown restraint in campaigning. However, in some cases criticism of candidates has been made, but within the limits of election conduct rules. Therefore, politics in Barak has not become as polluted as in the Brahmaputra Valley.

In the elections before and after 2026, the people of the state have witnessed extremely surprising developments. Some leaders who failed to get party nominations immediately joined other parties and secured tickets the very next day. In some cases, individuals who joined from another party also received nominations after switching sides again.

For example, in the Katigora constituency, former Congress leader Kamalkhya De Purkayastha joined the BJP and secured a nomination from that party. In protest, BJP leader Amar Chand Jain left the BJP overnight and joined Congress, and he too secured a Congress ticket. In the Brahmaputra Valley, due to conflicts within the party, Pradyut Bordoloi left Congress and joined BJP, securing nomination from the Dispur constituency. As a result, BJP ticket aspirant Jayanta Das contested as an independent candidate. It is also believed that RSS support was behind him.

Such rapid party switching and the imposition of candidates on voters is something that was not so prominent earlier. It has become much more visible in this election. These developments may influence voters to some extent, but in most cases, voters still tend to vote based on party symbols. However, exceptions to this cannot be denied.

India has a party-centric political system. Therefore, it is natural for one party to strongly criticize another’s ideology. Highlighting how much development work a government has done and how much it has failed, and presenting it to voters as part of election strategy, has always been a standard practice. At the same time, each party also highlights its own achievements to attract voters.

However, it is difficult for the general public to determine how much of these development claims are true and how much are exaggerated. There is a saying that the public cannot retain long-term memory; they are often influenced by recent impressions and decide their voting choice accordingly.

Behind the visible political struggle between parties, many other factors also operate. In a vast country like India, politics based on religion, caste, and community plays a significant role. These factors often influence electoral victory and defeat. It cannot be denied that communalism, regionalism, and caste-based politics exist.

Therefore, political parties also consider these factors while selecting candidates. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing elections in a constituency. In some states, these factors are given even greater importance. In Assam too, regional and community-based considerations are important in candidate selection.

Since Assam is a multilingual, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic state, these aspects are kept in mind during candidate selection. Efforts are made to ensure representation of all communities in the legislative assembly. Because of this, at times extreme communal tendencies are reduced. However, identity-based politics continues to exist, and no political party can completely escape it.

Many voters are influenced by religious considerations and sometimes fall into emotional traps, leading to misguided decisions. In some cases, when a candidate is universally acceptable, the situation is different, but such cases are exceptions. Identity-based polarization has become quite common in Assam and other states as well. People are often mobilized using narratives of identity and existential threat. Ordinary citizens fall into these political traps and align themselves accordingly. As a result, politics based on division becomes successful.

In conclusion, since our main subject is personality-based attacks in politics, I would like to say that if any political leader fails to maintain disciplined behavior, it will not be possible to keep the political environment clean. Elections can be conducted without personal defamation—and they should be.

This will keep the political environment clean and reduce feelings of hatred and hostility among people. Some leaders often say, “The individual is less important than the party, and the party is less important than the nation,” but in practice, they often prioritize personality-based politics. In such cases, both the party and the nation become secondary.

For ordinary voters, it is difficult to understand these political strategies. During elections, voters are often swept away by emotional campaigns, and politicians take advantage of this to serve their own interests. After the results are declared, voters are often surprised because, during campaigns, both competing narratives and counter-narratives influence them, making it difficult to predict outcomes.

Sometimes expected results do not occur, and sometimes unexpected outcomes happen.

If politicians focus on public suffering and welfare instead of personal attacks, the political environment will improve. At the same time, voters will also be able to choose the right candidates more effectively. However, those who benefit from misleading voters will never support such a change. Therefore, tactics such as personal defamation, character assassination, false accusations, and humiliation are used in politics.

Although these may provide short-term benefits, their long-term consequences are dangerous. Therefore, every politician should adopt self-discipline and work toward eliminating these negative practices in order to restore a positive political environment.

(This is the personal opinion of the writer. The author is a former student leader and a lawyer of the Gauhati High Court.)