In the 2021 Assam Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a historic third consecutive victory, winning 82 seats on its own and 102 seats collectively in the 126-member Assembly. A central pillar of that triumph, according to political analysts, was a meticulously orchestrated digital campaign that systematically labelled the Indian National Congress (Congress) as a 'party of minorities' — a narrative that resonated deeply with majority-community voters across the state.

The Electoral Landscape

The 4 May 2021 results delivered sweeping mandates across India. While three incumbent governments in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala were voted out, Assam bucked the trend, returning the BJP-led alliance to power with a commanding majority. The BJP's allies — Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) — contributed to the alliance's collective tally. Congress, meanwhile, was reduced to just 19 seats, with its ally Raijor Dal winning two additional seats.

Notably, Congress won only in regions with a dominant Muslim population, and reportedly had only one Hindu MLA among its 19 elected legislators — a demographic outcome that BJP's digital machine had anticipated and amplified well before results day.

The Hindutva Narrative and CM Sarma's Campaign

Multiple political watchers described the Assam elections as highly polarised and identity-driven. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ran an aggressive campaign centred on the cultural identity of Assam and what he characterised as a threat from infiltrating 'Miya Muslims' — a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims of Bangladeshi origin. This rhetoric, critics argue, exacerbated deep-seated resentment among majority-community voters rooted in historical and demographic anxieties specific to the state.

This is not a new fault line. Assam's politics has long been shaped by concerns over illegal immigration and demographic change, going back to the Assam Agitation of the 1980s. The BJP, analysts note, successfully connected those legacy grievances to a contemporary Hindutva framework.

The Digital Campaign: Influencers, Shadow Handles, and AI Tools

Beyond the ground campaign, the Assam BJP's social media team ran a highly targeted digital operation. According to observers, the team used influencers and shadow handles to portray Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi as 'Paaijan' — a label insinuating closeness to Pakistan. Video clips, purportedly originating from Pakistan and showing praise for Gogoi, were reportedly circulated widely on social media to reinforce this messaging.

The campaign also reportedly deployed AI tools to surface past statements and associations of Congress leaders and commentators, labelling them as 'Miya Lovers' and accusing them of minority appeasement. Multiple instances of Congress's outreach to the Muslim community were highlighted and amplified to suggest the party was cultivating a dedicated minority vote bank.

The impact was measurable: posts on Instagram and Facebook depicting Gogoi as 'Paaijan' generated waves of engagement, comments, and shares — broadening the popular discourse that Congress had become a party of minorities.

Government Machinery and the SIT Angle

The state government's Special Investigation Team (SIT) added institutional weight to the BJP's digital campaign. The SIT reportedly unearthed alleged links between Pakistani entities and Gaurav Gogoi's wife — a development that, according to the BJP, lent credibility to its social media narrative.

Chief Minister Sarma also stated in a press conference that more than 10,000 Bangladeshi Muslim Facebook accounts were used in Congress's digital campaign in the run-up to the elections — a claim that, according to the BJP, further emboldened its portrayal of Congress as aligned with minority and foreign interests. Congress has not publicly accepted these characterisations.

What the Results Signal

Congress's near-total decimation in districts dominated by the majority community underscores how effectively the BJP's narrative took hold. Political analysts argue that the combination of a charismatic CM, a charged Hindutva campaign, and a disciplined digital apparatus created a self-reinforcing loop — each element amplifying the other.

For Congress, the results mark a third consecutive loss in a state it once governed for decades, raising fundamental questions about its ability to rebuild a cross-community coalition in Assam. Whether the party can recalibrate its identity politics ahead of the next electoral cycle remains the defining challenge.