A FIELD ANALYSIS BY NEELANJAN SIRCAR, BHANU JOSHI AND ASHISH RANJAN
ELECTION STUDIES POLITICS

In their second piece on the Assam elections, drawing on their extensive field work in Lower Assam, which has a heavy concentration of Muslims, CPR researchers Neelanjan Sircar, Bhanu Joshi and Ashish Ranjan unpack the complex contours of the Muslim vote in Assam.

Their analysis argues that the preferences of Muslims in the region defy any simple characterization. They debunk the idea of a well-coordinated, consolidated Muslim vote bank that will decide the fate of the elections in the state, sharing insights on the competing political appeals the Congress, the AIUDF, and even the BJP (in special cases), hold for a Muslim population divided by region, language and patterns of religious practice.

Read the full paper here.