Addressing a rally in BiswanathAssam on 5 April, leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi said that Congress will get justice for singer Zubeen Garg within 100 days of coming to power. Garg died in Singapore in September last year.
“On one side is Zubeen Garg, and on the other, your Chief Minister. He is the most corrupt Chief Minister in the country. 24 hours a day, hatred, filthy language, and violence flow from his mouth. There’s a vast difference between his ideology, his words, and Zubeen Garg’s ideology and thinking,” Gandhi said drawing parallels of Assam chief minister with the slain singer.
Garg died six months ago. But his name is resonating in Assam elections, scheduled on 9 April. As things stand, Garg’s songs are still played across Assam. Every day, people in hundreds visit Kamakruchi, where his last rites were performed, to pay their respects to the slain singer.
“Now, sadly, he (Assam CM) has involved his family in corruption too. Now, not only will he be at a loss, but his entire family’s too… You can write it down, he can do as much nonsense as he wants, he can spread as much violence as he wants, ultimately, the law will catch him and put him in jail,” Gandhi said in the poll rally on Sunday. Congress had mentioned in its Assam poll manifesto that the party will make sure to get justice for Garg, if it comes to power.
The 9 April election for 126 seats of Assam is primarily a fight between the incumbent BJP and the Congress.
In 2021, the election saw the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retain power with 75 seats, marking the first time a non-Congress alliance won consecutive terms in the state.
The Mahajot led by the Congress won 50 seats, increasing its tally from 26 in 2016. Himanta Biswa Sarmaa former Congress leader, became the chief minister of Assam.
Days ahead of the voting, many in Assam suspect a conspiracy surrounding Garg’s death. Soon after his death, ‘Justice for Zubeen’ campaign was spearheaded which in turn brought his death into focus in poll year.
“I never thought Garg was such a big icon. I must say he has reborn in his death,” said a Guwahati resident, Anurag Saha on phone.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma criticized Congress promise on Garg. He said dragging the singer’s name into politics is a ‘sin’. The Congress’ Assam chief, Gaurav Gogoi, responded by pointing out Sarma once said if there was no ‘justice’ by election time, people shouldn’t vote for the BJP.
Sarma said in an interview with NDTV his government has done its part – arrested the accused – and that the matter now lay before the courts. And courts can’t be given deadlines, he said.
Last month, a Singapore coroner’s inquiry concluded that the Garg’s death was an accidental drowning. There’s no evidence of foul play, the inquiry revealed.
Garg was a cultural icon in Assam. He sang in over 40 languages and dialects across a 33-year career. The 52-year-old artist, known for his anti-establishment takes, died on 19 September 2025. He drowned in the sea off Singapore’s coast.
Does Zubeen Garg issue really have an electoral impact in Assam? Well, after speaking with voters on phone there seems to be no clarity. Clearly, Zubeen Garg’s death issue is symbolically powerful but electorally ambiguous. It shapes campaign rhetoric and public sentiment, but there’s no clear evidence it will significantly change voting patterns on its own.
The posters of singer Garg can be seen across Assam but no one can say if it will affect the voting patterns. “If you ask people about issues in elections, Garg may not even feature in top 10 issues. But if you mention his name, people will show emotions. But ultimately no one will know will Garg’s name resonate in the heads of voters at the time of voting on 9 April,” Saha said.
At a point in the run up to the polls, some people had suggested that Garg’s death might hurt BJP’s electoral prospectus. “If Congress wins elections, they will claim it was due to the anger in youth over varied issues, including Garg. Or else, no one would even talk about it,” another Assam-based engineer told Mint.
Garg was from Jorhat in Upper Assam. The Assam government has set up a fast-track court for speedy hearings.
