New Delhi: An elderly Muslim man cutting meat in the open while men in skull caps and women in hijabs crowd the airport, Ranghar, and cricket stadium, take over government land, and infiltrate the borders—these Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated visuals are part of the Assam BJP’s election ad campaign.
The latest video comes on the heels of a series of controversial videos released by the BJP, as it makes illegal immigration and Hindu-Muslim divisions its poll planks for the upcoming state elections. Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are the states going to the polls in 2026.
The advertisement shows “Assam without BJP”, in which Muslims have become the majority. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has repeatedly predicted this prospect, in a bid to justify his strong-handed tactics against alleged encroachments.
A look at the BJP Assam’s X page reveals that it has, of late, been posting along similar lines, calling Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi ‘Paaijaan’ for “close links with Pakistan”, while highlighting that his British wife worked there. Such posts or videos demonstrate the focus of the BJP and Himanta on illegal immigration, besides Hindu-Muslim divisions, before the Assam assembly elections, which, they fear, will be a close contest, political experts say.
“You see, Assam has a history of political mobilisation around the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh. The current dispensation—the [Himanta Biswa Sarma-led] BJP—has added a religious dimension to this dynamic,” said Rahul Verma, a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). “While they claim to be addressing the problem of illegal migrants, both directly and indirectly, the focus is often on Muslim migration.”
“With assembly elections due next year in both West Bengal and Assam, one of the [BJP’s] strategies appears to be linking the Opposition in these states to the cause of illegal migrants and Muslims and portraying them as guardian angels for these groups that people see as a key part of those parties’ voter base,” Verma added, speaking to ThePrint.
The latest video posted by the BJP on X depicts Assam with a Muslim-majority population, suggesting the state faces a “Muslim takeover” and would legalise beef without the BJP in power. The public is urged to “choose your vote carefully”. Moreover, Rahul Gandhi and Gaurav Gogoi appear in the video in the backdrop of a Pakistan flag, along with the caption ‘Pakistan Link Party’.
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BJP’s politics of targeting Miyas
In Assam, Muslims, including indigenous Assamese Muslims, Hindi-speaking Muslims, and those of Bengali origin—the largest sub-group—account for more than 34 percent of the population, according to the 2011 Census.
The latest series of Assam BJP posts ties up with previous statements of Himanta, who, in the past, has said that his party does not need the votes of ‘Miyas’ of ‘char’ areas (riverine sandbar) for the next 10 years till they reform themselves and stop indulging in practices, such as child marriage. ‘Miya’ is often used as a derogatory term for Bengali-speaking Muslims.
The latest video is not the only X post by the BJP around the ‘infiltrator’ topic.
In another post, the BJP targets Gaurav Gogoi, saying ‘Miyah ka masiha aa gaya’.
“Looks like Paaijaan’s soldiers couldn’t hold their excitement—dancing like it’s their first and last chance to see him. Forget elections, it feels more like a baraat out there!” said another BJP Assam post.
In a third X post, BJP Assam said, “Elections are on in Bodoland, but just look at Paaijaan’s rally stage! Not a single son of the soil made it there. This is their “strategy”. and when BJP sweeps the polls, they’ll do what they do best—cry louder than a nursery kid denied candy.”
When the Indian cricket team of late defeated Pakistan in one of the Asia Cup matches, BJP Assam’s X handle posted a picture of Gaurav Gogoi looking upset when asked who won.
Uss din dukhi tha pura Pakistan,
Sath mein dukhi tha Paaijaan.. pic.twitter.com/YAVHmWUU1h— BJP Assam Pradesh (@BJP4Assam) September 16, 2025
Old politics, new wrapping
The video drew sharp criticism from several politicians, with Gaurav Gogoi and Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi accusing the BJP of seeking to create a ‘Muslim-mukt‘ Bharat.
“BJP Assam has posted a disgusting AI video that shows a Muslim-majority Assam if there was no BJP. They are not fear-mongering just for votes, this is the repulsive Hindutva ideology,” wrote Owaisi in his post.
As the BJP sought to defend the posts, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said, “…the words, actions and images produced by the BJP IT cell do not even have the strength to scratch the surface of Assamese society.” He further said that the “great state of Assam deserves politicians who help the people of Assam reach new heights”.
The state Congress unit has also decided to file a police complaint in the matter.
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a writer and journalist based in Delhi, pointed out that whenever the BJP has faced an electoral challenge, it has turned to strident Hindu-Muslim polarisation—something it is doing in Assam now, considering the state elections are due next year.
Explaining the phenomenon, Mukhopadhyay said the pattern became quite clear in 2014, and it has since then regularly repeated itself. The approach of the BJP, he said, was out in the open on 15 August 2014, when, in his Independence Day speech at the Red Fort, Prime Minister Modi announced a demographic mission. “It was a clear indication that the BJP plans to raise this issue in a big way. Subsequently, in West Bengal, both Amit Shah and Modi talked about ‘infiltrators’,” Mukhopadhyay pointed out.
It is clear that collective issues, such as unemployment, food scarcity, and growing frustration among the youth—similar to what prevails in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal—are the actual concerns in the country, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay added. “Despite the publicity campaigns, there are serious issues confronting the public, related to things like bread-and-butter and other basics,” he said, adding, “I see this effort [by the BJP] as part of the process to revive its traditional platform.”
In Assam, this politics harks back to the old Sangh Parivar platform under the leadership of Balasaheb Deoras in 1978-79, when the Assam agitation began, according to Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. Since the 1970s, the Northeast track record of the Sangh has improved, Mukhopadhyay further said, mentioning the Sangh’s shift in focus to social expansion and establishing a presence. “So now, there is significant organisational involvement across states, such as Manipur, Nagaland, and Assam,” he added.
Deora, during his time only, established a distinction between two groups migrating from Bangladesh—the “infiltrators”, mainly Muslims, and the “refugees,” primarily Hindus fleeing persecution—Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay said. “This narrative maintains that Muslims are often seen as trying to alter India’s demographic balance, while Hindus are considered genuine refugees. What I am really getting at is that whether they are Hindus or Muslims, people leave Bangladesh for very different reasons,” he added.
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay stressed that historical, demographic, and socio-economic factors drive migration. “This has always been the case, even before Independence. Politically, it looks like the BJP is worried, which is why they are trying to highlight these issues.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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