Sir, I can tell you this with 200 per cent certainty. The election announcement won’t come before 14 March. And let me add this—whatever happens in the other states, elections in Assam will be wrapped up before 14 April.”

This was from about two weeks ago. We were crisscrossing Assam. I’d assumed that elections in four states would be announced end-February/early-March. When that didn’t happen, I called a political worker in Assam.

“Look, sir, the prime minister is scheduled to visit Assam on the 13th or 14th. He’ll make some big announcements. The Election Commission will wait for that, and only then impose the Model Code of Conduct. But after that, elections will be rushed through in Assam. This time, during Bihu, you’ll see Zubeen Garg’s photos everywhere, his songs playing—reminding people that the government never investigated his death. So, the BJP wants the elections over before Bihu begins on 14 April.”

And that is exactly how it played out.

Prime Minister Modi visited Assam on 13-14 March. In two days, he announced dozens of development schemes for the state: released the next instalment of the PM-Kisan scheme, distributed land titles to tea garden workers, flagged off three new trains, laid the foundation for an expressway from Silchar to Shillong, and dedicated a new hydropower project—promised investments of Rs........

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