Assam heads into elections on April 9 with a dramatically redrawn electoral map that opposition parties and analysts say amounts to "communal gerrymandering" - systematically reducing Muslim representation through constituency boundary manipulation.
The numbers are stark. Before delimitation, Muslims formed majorities in approximately 35 of Assam's 126 legislative constituencies. After the remapping: just 20 seats. In the Muslim-majority Barak Valley, total seats dropped from 15 to 13.
According to Al Jazeera's investigation, constituencies that previously elected Muslim legislators have been surgically altered. Naoboicha, which elected Muslims three times, saw its Muslim pockets "split into four neighbouring Hindu majority constituency seats." Barpeta, which elected Muslims four times, is now Hindu-majority and reserved for lower-caste candidates.
A billion people aren't a statistic - they're a billion stories. But when 34% of Assam's population - its Muslim minority - can contest only 16% of seats, those stories get systematically erased from democratic representation.
Political analyst Yogendra Yadav calls it textbook gerrymandering, employing three techniques:
"Cracking" - fragmenting Muslim voters across multiple Hindu-majority constituencies. "Packing" - concentrating Muslim voters into fewer seats, reducing total winnable constituencies. "Stacking" - merging Hindu population centers to create new majorities.
Take Katigorah constituency as an example. Roughly were merged into this seat, transforming it from balanced Hindu-Muslim to Hindu-majority. , a retired teacher there, told Al Jazeera the change was deliberate:
