GUWAHATI — Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma vowed to free five lakh bighas of encroached land from illegal Bangladeshis ahead of the 2026 state assembly elections. He delivered the pledge Saturday during the foundation-laying ceremony for the 10th Battalion of Assam Police at Kachutoli in Kamrup district.

Sarma highlighted the state government’s eviction efforts over the past five years. Officials said the administration reclaimed 1.5 lakh bighas total, including 1.10 lakh bighas of forest land, 26,000 bighas of government land, and 7,000 bighas of village grazing reserve or pastoral grazing reserve land. At Kachutoli alone, authorities evicted encroachers from 708 bighas and recovered 700.

The chief minister pegged total encroached land in Assam at 40 lakh bighas. ‘Today, I assure you that, after forming the government, we will free five lakh bighas of land from illegal Bangladeshis,’ Sarma said. He added that no one would dare encroach on land or kill rhinos in the state under BJP rule.

Of the 700 bighas reclaimed at Kachutoli, 174 bighas will house the new battalion camp. Sarma promised to build a medical college or engineering college on the remaining 500 bighas, depending on local needs.

Land evictions have marked the BJP’s tenure since 2016. The drives target both encroachers and suspected illegal immigrants, issues the party plans to emphasize in the polls. ‘We will create such an environment that illegal Bangladeshis will have to flee from here,’ Sarma told the crowd. ‘BJP is not scared of anyone. BJP will continue its work for Assam and the people of Assam.’

Earlier Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah ramped up the rhetoric in Kamrup. He blamed the Congress party for enabling illegal infiltration that shifted Assam’s demographics. Shah accused Congress of allowing infiltrators to dominate districts like Dhubri, Barpeta, Morigaon, Nagaon and Goalpara, turning them Muslim-majority.

‘During the Congress era, infiltrators entered here, which took Assam’s demography to a crisis level,’ Shah said. He recalled the BJP’s support for the Assam Movement against infiltration in the 1980s. ‘The BJP is the one that will free Assam from the sin you have committed,’ Shah declared.

Assam’s 126 assembly constituencies include 98 general seats, 19 reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 9 for Scheduled Castes. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar visited the state on February 18 to review preparations. He announced voter-friendly measures to ease balloting.

The pledges come as BJP seeks a third term. Land rights and immigration remain flashpoints in the state’s politics, fueling debates over identity and resources. Eviction drives have sparked protests in the past, though Sarma’s government defends them as essential for protecting indigenous land holdings.

Sarma’s comments underscore BJP’s strategy to consolidate Hindu and indigenous votes. The party positions itself as the bulwark against demographic changes blamed on past Congress rule and cross-border migration from Bangladesh.