How this old battle shapes the election now

Assam alliances shift power hinges on partners

Delimitation reshapes Assam’s electoral map.

Assam polls turn personal amid sharp attacks

Jobs vs cash: what voters care about most now.

Are investments turning into votes?

Conclusion

Credits

A decades-old rivalry simmers beneath Assam's 2026 elections. When Himanta Biswa Sarma, once a loyalist, walked out of Congress after being sidelined for Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav, he took 58 MLAs with him and never looked back. Today, Sarma is a fiery incumbent Chief Minister seeking a hattrick, while Gaurav leads Congress into battle to reclaim his father's throne. On Polls On My Pod, ET’s host Nidhi Sharma talks to her northeast correspondent Bikash Singh to unpack this deeply personal contest. From shifting alliances and delimitation to illegal immigration and cash transfer promises with just 0.83% separating the two sides in 2021 will legacy or development ultimately decide Assam's fate?


Don't miss out on this special election series – Polls On My Pod! episode on Pinarayi vs Pinarayi in Kerala

You can follow our host Nidhi Sharma on her social media: Twitter & Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on ET Play, The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn,  Amazon Music and Google Podcasts.

A decades-old rivalry simmers beneath Assam's 2026 elections. When Himanta Biswa Sarma, once a loyalist, walked out of Congress after being sidelined for Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav, he took 58 MLAs with him and never looked back. Today, Sarma is a fiery incumbent Chief Minister seeking a hattrick, while Gaurav leads Congress into battle to reclaim his father's throne. On Polls On My Pod, ET&rsquo;s host Nidhi Sharma talks to her northeast correspondent Bikash Singh to unpack this deeply personal contest. From shifting alliances and delimitation to illegal immigration and cash transfer promises with just 0.83% separating the two sides in 2021 will legacy or development ultimately decide Assam's fate?
 Don't miss out on this special election series &ndash; Polls On My Pod! episode on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000758899797">Pinarayi vs Pinarayi in Kerala</a> You can follow our host Nidhi Sharma on her social media: <a href="https://twitter.com/nidhi_sharma">Twitte</a>r &amp; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nidhi-sharma-4439b47/">Linkedin</a>
Check out other interesting episodes like:<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000742733036"> How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000740924439"> How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738734300"> India&rsquo;s Labour Law Reboot</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738205536"> Viral to Valuation: Building Women&rsquo;s Cricket as a Brand</a> and<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777"> much more</a>.
Catch the latest episode of &lsquo;The Morning Brief&rsquo; on<a href="https://www.etplay.com/etplay"> ET Play</a>,<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr"> The Economic Times Online</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief">&nbsp;Amazon Music</a> and<a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvNjBiMmU5MjYtZTVmOC00YjkwLWE0NjUtYWVmOTAxMTYzMDAxLzk1ZmQ3YzU5LTc5MGQtNDk2ZS1iYmRlLWFlZjkwMTE2N2ZlNC84YWU1NDc2My05OTI1LTQwY2EtOGMzZC1hZWY5MDExNjdmZmIvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M?sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi2gOG4la36AhUvjtgFHcdWDU8Q9sEGegQIARAC"> Google Podcasts</a>.

To make sense of the week’s hottest stories in business, economy, politics and markets, journalists from the Economic Times chat with reporters and industry leaders in this thrice-weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) podcast.