Illegal immigration has been at the centre of the BJP's campaign in Assam. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have promised to identify and deport infiltrators to strengthen border security. The BJP-led Assam government has initiated several extensive eviction drives, citing claims of illegal land encroachment.

Now, taking a strong stand on the issue, the BJP's Assam poll in-charge Baijayant Panda has called illegal immigration an "assault on Assamese culture".

Speaking with NDTV's Padmaja Joshi and Ankit Tyagi at 'The Great Brahmaputra Dialogue', Panda said, "The reality is, Assam has faced the kind of invasion, and I won't use a softer word, I will call it invasion, that no other state in the country has seen, that I don't believe any other country in the world has seen."

Responding to questions on the BJP's campaign plan in Assam, national vice president Baijayant Jay Panda said the party's strength came from year-round engagement, not last-minute election outreach.

"The BJP doesn't just turn up during elections," Panda said. "Our lakhs of workers in Assam have been in touch with people every week - not just through political initiatives, but also through social work."

He said the party had expanded significantly in the last decade, and claimed that public response on the ground had been "overwhelming."

"People will choose us to take forward this development and turnaround of the state," he said, adding that the BJP expected to "do even better than last time" in the upcoming polls.

BJP national vice president Baijayant Jay Panda said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "completely upended" the central government's approach to the Northeast, especially Assam.

"He was here recently, and it was his 77th visit as Prime Minister," Panda said. "His predecessor, who represented Assam, came here just 10 times - and that was still higher than the cumulative visits of all earlier Prime Ministers combined."

Panda said the impact of this shift was visible on the ground. "AFSPA has been removed from two-thirds of the state, and militants are laying down arms," he added, calling it evidence of improved stability and governance under the BJP.

BJP MP And Assam election in-charge Baijayant Jay Panda will speak on the party's northeast strategy.

Kamal Narayan Choudhury, vice president of the Assam Jatiya Parishad, said the BJP remained a formidable force in the state, but argued that the electoral landscape was skewed against indigenous Assamese communities.

"The BJP juggernaut is strong," he said, noting that out of the state's constituencies, only 57 seats were those where an "indigenous Assamese can think of winning" based solely on indigenous votes. "The rest are dominated by immigrants or people from other parts of the country," he said.

Choudhury claimed that BJP's electoral success did not translate into benefits for native Assamese communities. "Hindi and Bengali-speaking populations vote for them. Their success is not for the betterment of indigenous people," he said.

Mira Borthakur Goswami, Mahila Congress President in Assam, said the people of the state were ready for change after a decade of BJP rule.

"We have been in the opposition for 10 years. This year, we will come to power," she said, adding that voters had witnessed the Congress' "journey" and were prepared to "bring us back."

Slamming the BJP's development pitch, Goswami said the slogan of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' had "fallen flat". "Just look at gas prices. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister don't care about common people," she said.

She also targeted the state government over its education record, claiming that instead of opening new institutions, "7,000 government schools have been closed".

A fireside chat titled 'Changing Assam: From Tourism to Industry 4.0' will see the following speakers:

The upcoming session will explore the role of women leading that change and emerging as the new voices of Assam.

The speaker include:

Rita Chowdhury, Author & Former Director, NBT

Stuti Choudhury, Presenter, Singer & Actor 

Drishti Medhi, Co-founder, QuickGhy 

Akshata Narain, Group President - AM Television 

Violinist Sunita Bhuyan begins performance and address of the first session at the NDTV Great Brahmpautra Conclave titled 'The Cultural Voice of Assam'.

Key political voices across parties - from the BJP, Congress, AIUDF and AJP - will join multiple panels to debate the state's electoral landscape, youth aspirations, health and industry priorities, infrastructure push and minority questions.

Through the day, leaders, policymakers, cultural icons and changemakers will gather to decode Assam's political mood, cultural voice, economic ambitions and development roadmap. Discussions will range on topics ranging from women shaping change, tourism and industry.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev will be among the key leaders to speak at the NDTV Great Brahmaputra Dialogue to be held in Guwahati today.