CM Himanta Mocks Congress Over Ballot Box, EVM Losses
Synopsis
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma mocked Congress on X on October 29, 2026, joking that the party loses elections whether conducted with ballot boxes or EVMs, reigniting a long-running political debate about voting technology.
Key Takeaways
Himanta Biswa Sarma posted a sharp taunt at Congress on October 29, 2026 , saying the party loses in both ballot-box and EVM elections.
The remark references a years-long EVM controversy in which sections of the opposition have questioned electronic voting machine reliability — a charge the Election Commission has consistently rebutted.
Sarma defected from Congress to BJP in 2015 , giving his criticism of the party an insider's edge.
The BJP ended Congress's 15-year rule in Assam in the 2016 assembly elections — a watershed Sarma frequently invokes.
As NEDA convenor , Sarma has overseen BJP-aligned expansions across the Northeast, eroding Congress's once-dominant regional base.
A familiar taunt, freshly sharpened — Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma fired a pointed jab at the Congress Party on Thursday, October 29, 2026, poking fun at what he framed as its remarkable talent for losing elections regardless of the voting method.
Posting on X, Sarma wrote: 'I really appreciate the consistency of Congress Party — Ballot box me bhi haarte hai, EVM me bhi haarte hai' ('They lose in the ballot box era, they lose in the EVM era'). The laughing emoji at the end left little ambiguity about the register.
The EVM debate Congress never quite wins
The dig lands inside a long-running political argument. For over a decade, sections of the opposition — Congress included — have periodically questioned the reliability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), introduced nationally in the early 2000s, alleging they could be manipulated. The Election Commission of India has consistently rejected those claims, and courts have found no evidence of systemic tampering.
Sarma's one-liner turns the argument on its head: if Congress lost when paper ballots were the norm, and continues to lose under EVMs, the machine is not the variable. It is a line the BJP and its allies have deployed with increasing frequency in the Northeast, where Congress once held near-unbroken sway.
A defector's sharpest lines
Few BJP voices carry more sting on this subject than Sarma's. He spent years inside the Congress before crossing over in 2015, and the BJP went on to end Congress's 15-year stranglehold on Assam in the 2016 assembly elections. That personal history gives his taunts a texture that a career-BJP leader's wouldn't — he watched the party from the inside before watching it lose from the outside.
As convenor of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), Sarma has since shepherded BJP-aligned governments across multiple northeastern states, shrinking Congress's footprint in a region it once treated as a home base.
Whether the post was triggered by a fresh local poll result or simply the mood of the afternoon, one thing is clear: in the theatre of Indian political social media, Sarma rarely misses his cue — and Congress is, once again, the punchline.
Point of View
He undercuts the opposition's technological alibi and redirects the conversation to electoral performance. For a leader who once sat in Congress cabinets, the jab carries biographical authority that amplifies its political effect. The taunt also serves a structural purpose — reinforcing BJP's dominance story in the Northeast ahead of any upcoming electoral cycle. It is combative, calculated, and almost certainly intended to go viral rather than to start a substantive policy dialogue.
NationPress
29 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Himanta Biswa Sarma criticise Congress about EVMs?
Sarma, a former Congress leader who joined BJP in 2015, routinely counters Congress's EVM-tampering allegations by pointing out that the party lost elections in the ballot-box era as well, arguing the problem is political rather than technological.
What is the EVM controversy in India?
Sections of the Indian opposition, including Congress, have periodically alleged that Electronic Voting Machines introduced in the early 2000s could be manipulated. The Election Commission and courts have consistently found no credible evidence of systemic tampering.
When did BJP defeat Congress in Assam?
The BJP ended Congress's 15-year rule in Assam in the 2016 state assembly elections, a result closely associated with Himanta Biswa Sarma's political realignment.
What is NEDA and what is Himanta's role in it?
The North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) is a BJP-led coalition of parties across northeastern India. Himanta Biswa Sarma serves as its convenor and has used the platform to consolidate BJP-aligned governments in the region.
Why did Himanta Biswa Sarma leave Congress?
Sarma left Congress in 2015 citing differences within the party's Assam unit and joined the BJP, subsequently becoming one of the party's most prominent faces in the Northeast.
