Congress returns to power amid a boycott and the Nellie massacre
What happened
The Indian National Congress returned to power in Assam in a landslide.
It won 91 of the 109 seats on offer.
That left it 36 seats clear of a majority.
The INC took 83.5% of the seats on 52.5% of the vote.
The Independent finished second, with 10 seats on 29.0% of the vote.
The campaign
On 6 January 1983, as AASU-AAGSP leaders returned from failed talks in New Delhi, the government announced staggered polling for 14, 17 and 20 February on the state's unrevised electoral rolls. AASU and AAGSP, who wanted foreign nationals removed from the rolls before any election, called for a boycott, and their leaders were arrested at Guwahati airport that same day.12
On 10 February, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi addressed the Bengali immigrant Muslim community in Nagaon district. Accounts differ on what she said: one source has her warning they would have to leave the state if they did not vote Congress, while another describes the appeal as a promise to protect their interests.3
For the phased vote, authorities deployed about 150,000 armed personnel, including roughly 8,000 officers brought in from other states, alongside central paramilitary and army units, about one armed man for every 57 voters. On 18 February, during the third phase of polling, a mob killed an estimated 1,800 to 2,000 people, mostly Bengali-origin Muslims, across 14 villages near Nellie in Nagaon district, in roughly six hours.45
- 1Government Announces Staggered February Polling for Assam Election — Assam Movement, Nellie massacre and 'citizenship': When 1,800 Muslims were killed in Assam in just 6 hours
- 2AASU-AAGSP Leaders Arrested at Guwahati Airport Amid Election Boycott Call — Assam Movement, Nellie: 'Memoricide' Of A Massacre
- 3Indira Gandhi Appeals to Bengali Muslim Voters in Nagaon District — Assam Movement, Nellie: 'Memoricide' Of A Massacre
- 4150,000 Armed Personnel Deployed to Guard the Phased Assam Poll — Assam Movement, Nellie massacre
- 5Nellie Massacre Kills Thousands During Assam Polling — Nellie massacre, Nellie massacre and 'citizenship': When 1,800 Muslims were killed in Assam in just 6 hours
What changed
Janata Party's government collapsed at the polls.
38 of the 83 seats that changed hands swung directly from JNP to INC, more than between any other pair of parties.
INC itself grew from 26 seats to 91 seats this time.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, fell to 30.0%, a change of -34.8 pp from the previous election.
Notable numbers
The closest race was at Nalbari, Assam, decided by 16 votes.
Dharmapur, Assam saw both the widest margin and the lowest turnout of the election — 100.0% of the vote on 0.4% turnout — a sign of how deep the boycott reached in some pockets of the state.6
Mankachar, Assam recorded the highest turnout of any seat, 75.5%.
Karimganj North, Assam was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 1,00,190 on its rolls.
Silchar, Assam drew the most crowded ballot of the election, with 11 candidates standing.
4 seats were unopposed returns — where only one candidate stood, so no vote was needed to decide them.
- 61983 Assam Election Held Amid Boycott and the Nellie Massacre — 1983 Assam Legislative Assembly election, Nellie massacre
The backdrop
The North-Eastern Areas Reorganisation Act took effect on 21 January 1972, carving the states of Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya and the union territories of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh out of the former Assam, reducing it to its present boundaries.7
JNP won 53 of 126 seats in the 25 February 1978 election, and Golap Borbora was sworn in as Chief Minister on 12 March, forming Assam's first non-Congress government; he resigned the following year after losing majority support.8
- 7North-Eastern Areas Reorganisation Act Redraws Assam's Boundaries — North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971
- 8Janata Party Forms Assam's First Non-Congress Government — 1978 Assam Legislative Assembly election, Golap Borbora