Guwahati (Assam) [India], August 29 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday sounded the poll bugle for the 2026 Assam assembly elections, addressing a mega Panchayat Pratinidhi Sanmilan of the NDA at Veterinary College Field, Khanapara in Guwahati.

In a sharp attack on the Congress, Shah said that Assam cannot be led by leaders who 'settle infiltrators and repeatedly visit Pakistan.' He further stated that the BJP, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has transformed the state through development and increased employment opportunities.

'Himanta Biswa Sarma organised an Investment Summit in Assam, resulting in MoUs worth Rs 5.18 lakh crore, out of which projects worth Rs 1.40 lakh crore have already been implemented on the ground. There was a time when Congress said 'bye-bye' to Assam. Today, Assam is being transformed into a developed state under the leadership of Modi Ji and Himanta Biswa Sarma,' Shah said.

He claimed that the BJP has removed encroachments by infiltrators from Satras associated with Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva and Mahapurush Madhavdev, thereby 'restoring the sanctity of the Satras.'

He also mocked Congress's performance in the recent panchayat elections, saying, 'So massive was the BJP's victory that you won't be able to find Congress even with a telescope.'

Taking aim at Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, Shah said that the BJP government has worked to free lakhs of acres of land that had been encroached upon by infiltrators.

'But Gaurav Gogoi is opposing this. Today, I want to say - Gaurav Ji, oppose as much as you want. This is a BJP government, and we will reclaim every single inch of land from the infiltrators, because this land rightfully belongs to our youth. Assam can't be led by a leader who settles infiltrators and repeatedly visits Pakistan. Assam's leadership can only be provided by Modi Ji and Himanta Biswa Sharma,' Shah said.

Amit Shah added, 'There is a great significance of these panchayat elections because it was the first election after the Assam delimitation...'

BJP-led NDA had registered a massive victory in the last panchayat polls in Assam.

The Union Home Minister urged NDA Panchayat representatives and BJP-AGP party workers to be prepared for the upcoming 2026 assembly polls in Assam and to ensure a NDA victory in the state for a third consecutive term.

'Not only the third term, we all will have to be ready to form an NDA government again and again,' Shah said. (ANI)