Like any other state, for the people of Assam, 2020 was a year of lockdown, distress and deprivation. Other than the management of Covid, hardly anything rose to political prominence this year.
However, the demise of the three-time chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, is one of the mentions one will find other than COVID-19, whenever there is a discussion about 2020 in future with respect to Assam.
The beginning of the year was marked by subdued anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests spearheaded by the influential All Assam Students’ Union (AASU).
Protest rallies were taken out across the state by the organisations, including Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, Lachit Sena, besides other student and youth organisations of ethnic communities.
The agitation began from Sivasagar in upper Assam, where it was launched last year before it was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notably, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam, after a violent upsurge during anti-CAA protests, could bring the situation back under control right at the beginning of the year.
The principal opposition party, Congress, failed to take advantage of the anti-government feelings that fanned out during the anti-CAA protests.
BJP’s top strategist in North East, Himanta Biswa Sarma, led from the front during the hour of crisis and somehow managed to bring in a wedge between protestors which took the steam out of the agitation.
By mid-March thereafter, Covid-19 had arrived and it changed everything. Three months of lockdown put a complete halt to every work.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus saw citizens of Assam return from other parts of the country due to job losses from a shrinking economy and economic restrictions imposed by the central government.
The government channelized all its focus and resources towards combating the infectious disease.
Notably, Assam emerged as one of the best performing states in Covid-19 management.
Health Minister Sarma used the situation to his benefit. Apart from handling the pandemic situation well, Sarma managed to script a completely different political narrative taking the focus miles away from any form of protests.
Right from creating Covid-19 care centres to hospitals he was omnipresent. In fact, he carved a niche for himself during the pandemic by reconfirming his position as the most performing minister in the BJP government in Assam.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal preferred a waiting game playing second fiddle to his deputy during the pandemic time.
Towards the end of the year, as the Covid-19 infections waned, political activities gained momentum. The high voltage election of the Bodoland Territorial Council was one such event of 2020. The alliance of the Bhartiya Janata Party, United People’s Progressive Liberal Party (UPPL) and Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) managed to form the Council in Bodoland eventually.
Pramod Boro, the president of the (UPPL), has been designated as the new chief of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).
Out of the 40 seats, UPPL secured 12 seats, BJP got nine seats and GSP was able to get one seat in the council. The single largest party in this election was Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) led by Hagrama Mohilary which won 17 seats but failed to secure the winning target of 21 seats to govern the council.
The Bodoland election has increased the foot-print of BJP in the tribal region.
On the other hand, the principal opposition party, Congress, is probably in its weakest state in Assam. Intra-party rivalry among the top state leadership, exodus of leaders to BJP during the end of the year has added to its woes.
It is looking like the leaders of the party have given up the battle even before putting up a fight in the 2021 Assam assembly elections. After the demise of veteran Congress leader and former chief minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, the party leadership looks further shattered as senior Congress leader Ajanta Neog and many others joined BJP.
There is nothing much to write about Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), ally in the ruling government. The regional party has further lost its steam and its senior partner might ditch them up in run up to the assembly elections.
The emergence of new political parties in 2020 - Asom Jaitya Parishad and Raijor Dal - which have promised to espouse the cause of the regional politics, will further complicate matters for AGP.
In totality, politically in 2020 Assam has not seen any major shift besides the ruling BJP further strengthening its dominance as the opposition forces failed to rise to the occasion.