ABSTRACT
The chapter authors explain why the BJP could deepen its dominance in the 2019 elections in Assam despite a huge uproar over the controversial citizenship amendment bill, 2019 introduced by the BJP government in the parliament. The verdict in favour of the BJP was due to the peoples’ approval of the party governments both at the state and the centre. The popularity of Modi also considerably influenced voters across different social groups to vote for the BJP, except the minority voters. The BJP’s continued alliance with AGP and BPF was significant in retaining the regional character of the party in a state where region matters more than caste. The salience of religion as a marker of polarization also restrained the impact of linguistic or caste/tribal loyalties in splitting the Hindu votes to the advantage of the BJP.
