Election Pitch Turns Shrill as Himanta Sharpens ‘Miya’ Rhetoric, Opposition Walks Into the Trap

By Mrinal Talukdar

With elections approaching, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has sharply escalated his political messaging, turning references to “Miya Muslims” into a central election plank and triggering a nationwide storm — one that has kept the opposition exactly where the BJP wants it: locked into outrage.

The Chief Minister’s recent remarks, including the statement that “whoever can, should make Miya suffer”, have been seized upon by opposition leaders, activists and public intellectuals across the country. Social media platforms have been flooded with condemnation, with senior Congress leader SupriyaShrinate remarking that “if abusing someone were a competition, falling lower than this would be difficult for anyone.”

Human rights activist Harsh Mander went further, calling the remarks “a brazen call for economic apartheid” and “unlawful and unconstitutional hate speech unbecoming of a person holding a high constitutional post.” Journalist Abhisar Sharma described the episode as proof that “only a BJP Chief Minister can get away with any amount of communal hate and filth.”

Several critics have questioned institutional silence. Arfa Khanum Sherwani asked pointedly whether “the Supreme Court is actually functioning,” while lawyer Prashant Bhushan said that “spewing hatred on communal lines is a serious offence” and that the Chief Minister “would be in jail if the rule of law was being implemented.”

Yet, away from national outrage and social media fury, the political temperature inside Assam remains noticeably cooler and actually, ordinary people are least bothered as ‘Miyas’ are an integral part of Assam’s workforce ecosystem.

Beyond statements by opposition leaders and predictable denunciations, there has been little sign of public mobilisation. For many voters, the remarks are being read less as governance signals and more as familiar election-time provocation — rhetoric that surfaces cyclically and rarely alters everyday realities.

From a strategic standpoint, the BJPappears to have achieved precisely what it set out to do. By sharpening his language, Himanta Biswa Sarma has successfully set the campaign narrative, forcing the opposition to react on ideological terrain rather than press issues such as prices, unemployment, governance fatigue or local grievances.

In doing so, the opposition has amplified the controversy while remaining trapped within it. As one commentator put it, “the crowds will cheer, the courts will look away, and the media will either ignore or defend.”
For the BJP’s core base, the remarks reinforce ideological clarity. For undecided voters, they increasingly resemble political theatre. And for the opposition, the result is a familiar bind — responding angrily while playing on a field chosen by the ruling party.

As the noise continues to grow louder on national platforms, Assam’s ground reality tells a quieter story: life goes on, completely dependent on the very same ‘miyas' for vegetables, to constructions, and all kinds of vendors. As elections draw nearer, and polarisation once again becomes the dominant political currency — not as an accident, but as design.

Also Read: 'Paying Less to Miyas Won't Make People Of Assam Rich': Pawan Khera Slams Himanta Biswa Sarma