Congress extends its streak in a larger house
What happened
Congress kept winning in Assam, extending its streak of victories.
It had now won 4 elections in a row.
The Indian National Congress won 73 of the 125 seats on offer.
That was still 10 seats more than it needed for a majority.
What changed
This was also the first election with a larger assembly and a livelier field of parties.
The house grew from 105 to 125 seats.
A batch of new parties also broke through for the first time: AHL, SSP, and SWA.
5 seats were unopposed returns — where only one candidate stood, so no vote was needed to decide it.
Notable numbers
A few numbers from that election stand out.
Bihpuria, Assam saw the tightest finish of the election, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of just 41 votes.
At the other extreme, Nongstoin, Assam was the most lopsided contest, won by a margin of 89.3%.
Janta, Assam posted the best turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — of any seat that year, at 82.1%.
Statewide turnout also reached its highest point in the state's history to that date, at 54.5%.
The backdrop
Independents also gained ground this election, even without any change in who held power.
Their support rose by +8.5 pp from before.