CM Himanta targets Rahul Gandhi at Nalbari rally
Synopsis
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma used a Nalbari gathering on October 13, 2026 to accuse Rahul Gandhi of 'destructive politics' and pledged a village-by-village BJP counter-campaign ahead of the 2026 Assam assembly elections.
Key Takeaways
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed a mass rally in Nalbari, Assam on October 13, 2026 .
Sarma accused Rahul Gandhi of being 'frustrated' and seeking to push India toward anarchy to gain power.
He described the Nalbari crowd as a rejection of Gandhi's 'destructive politics.' Sarma pledged to take the counter-campaign to 'every village' in Assam.
The rally comes ahead of the 2026 Assam assembly elections , with BJP defending its majority won in 2021 .
Sarma also serves as convenor of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) , giving him significant regional organisational reach.
A mass gathering in Nalbari, Assam, on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, became the stage for Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to launch one of his sharpest attacks yet on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of pushing the country toward anarchy out of a hunger for power.
Posting on X alongside footage from the event, Sarma wrote: 'Rahul Gandhi frustrated aadmi hain aur satta ki bhookh ke liye desh ko araajkta ki or dhakelnaa chahte hain' — 'Rahul Gandhi is a frustrated man who wants to push the country toward anarchy for his hunger for power.' He pointed to the crowd assembled in Nalbari as a direct rebuke of what he called Gandhi's 'destructive politics,' vowing the resistance would now travel 'village to village across Assam.'
What Nalbari signals for Assam's political battlefield
Nalbari is not an incidental backdrop. The district sits in the Brahmaputra Valley heartland, a region where BJP has steadily expanded its footprint since wresting Assam from Congress in 2016 and consolidating that hold in the 2021 assembly elections. Staging a counter-mobilisation event there sends a pointed message to Congress organisers: the BJP intends to hold every inch of its territory.
Sarma, who also serves as convenor of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), has long been the BJP's most visible attack-line strategist in the region. His framing of Gandhi as 'frustrated' and 'destabilising' is consistent with a national BJP narrative — but the pledge to carry the campaign 'village to village' suggests the party is not waiting for Congress to set the agenda ahead of the 2026 Assam assembly polls.
BJP's ground-up counter-campaign in Assam districts
The closing line of Sarma's post — 'Congressiyon, sun lo, desh chup nahin rahega', 'Congressites, hear this: the country will not stay silent' — is a direct call to mobilise BJP workers at the grassroots level. It frames the Nalbari event not as a one-off rally but as the opening salvo of a district-by-district counter-campaign.
With assembly elections approaching, both BJP and Congress are sharpening their ground operations in Assam. A Congress response to Sarma's remarks, and whether the party fields Gandhi himself for a counter-rally in the state, will be the immediate signal to watch.
In the battle for Assam's villages, the opening bid has been made — loudly, and with cameras rolling.
Point of View
Localise the anger. By framing Rahul Gandhi not merely as a political rival but as an agent of 'anarchy,' he elevates a state assembly contest into a question of national stability, a frame that has historically moved voters in Assam's semi-urban and rural belts. The village-by-village mobilisation pledge signals that BJP is not content to defend its 2021 mandate passively; it wants to own the election's tempo. Whether Congress can counter with a credible Assam-specific narrative — rather than Gandhi's national tour messaging — may well decide which party controls the Brahmaputra Valley constituencies that swing the assembly majority.
NationPress
13 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Himanta Biswa Sarma say about Rahul Gandhi at the Nalbari rally?
Sarma called Rahul Gandhi a 'frustrated man' who wants to push India toward anarchy out of a hunger for power, and said the Nalbari crowd had gathered specifically to oppose Gandhi's 'destructive politics.'
Where is Nalbari and why is it significant in Assam politics?
Nalbari is a district in the Brahmaputra Valley heartland of Assam, a key region where BJP has steadily expanded since 2016, making it a strategically important location for political mobilisation ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
When are the next Assam assembly elections?
The next Assam assembly elections are expected in 2026. BJP has held power in the state since 2016 and retained its majority in the 2021 polls.
What is NEDA and what role does Himanta Biswa Sarma play in it?
NEDA — the North-East Democratic Alliance — is a BJP-led coalition of regional parties across Northeast India. Himanta Biswa Sarma serves as its convenor, giving him considerable organisational influence beyond Assam.
What did Sarma pledge after the Nalbari rally?
Sarma pledged that the counter-campaign against Congress would now move 'village to village' across Assam, framing Nalbari as the start of a grassroots BJP mobilisation drive.
