Guwahati, April 9: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described Thursday’s high voter turnout in the Assembly elections as “not ordinary but historic,” asserting that the result of the election was already visible in the “hope, pride, and happiness” on the faces of the people.

Polling across all 126 constituencies ended at 5 p.m. with an estimated turnout of 84.42%, a figure expected to rise further as final numbers are compiled. In several polling booths, participation reportedly crossed 95%.

In a post on X, Sarma wrote, “What we set out to do was not merely fight an election, but to turn it into a movement, a movement to protect our civilisational values, our culture, and our land. Today, for the first time, our people have come out in unprecedented numbers… This is not ordinary. This is historic.”

He added that Assam had risen above divisions of language and caste, voting with a clear resolve to protect its identity and culture from “illegal infiltration and demographic aggression.” Calling the day a “watershed moment in Assam’s history,” Sarma declared, “Assam will not surrender, Assam will fight, Assam will survive, Assam will endure.”