GUWAHATI : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed on Tuesday that the NDA lost the Lok Sabha seats in Nagaland and Meghalaya as leaders of a particular religion worked against the ruling alliance.

Speaking to reporters at the BJP’s state office, Sarma remarked, “Leaders of a particular religion openly worked against the BJP and NDA in Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya and that religion has tremendous followers in those states. That made the difference.”

Despite these challenges, Sarma celebrated the BJP-led alliance’s victory in 11 out of 14 seats in Assam, where Muslim voters constitute 40% of the population.

Furthermore, the Assam chief minister also informed that the NDA’s performance has improved given that the vote share jumped from 39 per cent in 2019 to 46 per cent in 2024 and hailed the state’s transformation in the past 3 years.

 “The NDA has also bettered its overall vote share to nearly 46 per cent, a huge jump from the 39 per cent vote share we secured in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 44 per cent in the 2021 assembly elections. This we have achieved despite the 40 per cent minority population in the state.

This translates into a lead for the NDA in more than 90 of 126 assembly segments, a much-improved outcome compared to our performance in the 2021 Assembly elections. Clearly, today’s results are a vote for the overall transformation Assam has been experiencing in the last 3 years.”