Modi–Shah Visits Signal High-Stakes Push In Assam As BJP Blends Big-Ticket Development With 2026 Poll Strategy

Guwahati: With just three months left for the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, the ruling BJP is gearing up for an intensive political and developmental push in the state, marked by a series of high-profile visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah later this month.

Announcing the packed itinerary during a live interaction, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the visits are designed to showcase Assam’s rapidly evolving infrastructure, strengthen economic confidence, and connect directly with people across regions.

The Prime Minister will arrive in Assam on December 20 to inaugurate the new terminal of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, a landmark project built at a cost of around ₹4,000 crore. The terminal stands out for its distinctive design—crafted with locally sourced bamboo and inspired by the kopou phool (foxtail orchid), blending Assamese cultural identity with global aviation standards.

An 80-foot statue of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi, Assam’s first Chief Minister, will also be unveiled on the occasion.

“The new terminal is astoundingly beautiful and equipped with advanced facilities. Bamboo from Assam has been used extensively, and the architecture reflects our culture,” Sarma said, adding that he would personally showcase the terminal a day ahead of the inauguration.

Looking beyond the inauguration, the Chief Minister outlined ambitious plans around the airport ecosystem, including an elevated corridor connecting the airport directly to Jalukbari, for which a proposal from the National Highways Authority of India is expected soon. An aerocity project, an aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub, and an aviation training school with simulators are also in the pipeline—initiatives aimed at generating skilled employment for local youth.

Following the airport event, Modi will attend a meeting in Guwahati and later interact with BJP workers at the party office, reinforcing organisational outreach.

On December 21, the Prime Minister will visit the inland waterways terminal on the Brahmaputra, inaugurated last month by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He will then board the Charaideo ferry, where he will take part in Pariksha Pe Charcha, interacting with 25–30 students from Classes 9, 10 and 11 on exam stress and preparation.

Sarma said the Prime Minister’s ferry journey is expected to give a major boost to river tourism. “Just as tourist footfall increased after his Kaziranga visit, this will help project the Brahmaputra as a major tourism destination,” he noted.

In a historic first, Modi will also visit the Assam Movement Martyrs’ Memorial to pay homage to the 860 martyrs, marking the first time a sitting Prime Minister has done so. Later in the day, he will travel to Dibrugarh, which the state government is developing as Assam’s second capital.

A key focus of the Dibrugarh visit will be the expansion of the Namrup fertiliser plant. While the existing unit produces about three lakh metric tonnes of urea annually, a new ₹10,000-crore project—funded jointly by the Centre (60 per cent) and the Assam government (40 per cent)—aims to raise production to 12 lakh metric tonnes.

“This will make Assam self-reliant in fertiliser production and allow us to supply to other parts of the country,” Sarma said.

After Modi’s departure, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Assam on December 29 for programmes combining cultural, administrative and security-related initiatives. Shah will inaugurate development works at Batadrava and Borduwa, the birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva, including the newly constructed Bhagawat Griha.

He will also inaugurate the Jyoti-Bishnu auditorium, with a seating capacity of 5,000, and launch a statewide CCTV surveillance project. In January, Shah is expected to return to Dibrugarh to lay the foundation stone of the new Assam Legislative Assembly complex.

Notably, Prime Minister Modi has already visited Assam twice this year—in February and September—while Shah toured the state in March and August, underscoring the BJP’s sustained focus on the region.

The back-to-back visits by the party’s top leadership highlight a coordinated strategy that intertwines governance, development, and political mobilisation as Assam moves closer to the 2026 Assembly elections.

Inviting public participation, Sarma said, “I urge the people of Assam to attend these programmes and witness firsthand the scale of development taking place in the state.”