The sweeping victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance in Assam legislative assembly elections 2026 brought the limelight on Zubeen Garg once again, but in a different perspective.

One can observe that all the candidates and parties that brought the issue of Zubeen’s unusual death in Singapore and subsequent investigative processes to electoral politics lost public support.

Many of them asserted that the young population would vote against the ruling alliance as the ‘Justice for Zubeen’ campaign touched millions of fans and well-wishers of the revered cultural icon.

But the electorates of Assam, who projected an overwhelming polling in a peaceful ambience, responded in a different way, which probably deserves a genuine introspection in a proper forum.

The single-phase election on 9 April, which witnessed an all-time high percentage of voting (85.91) in Assam, resulted in 82 seats for the BJP alone in the 126-member assembly (thus recording the third consecutive win for the saffron party), where the Indian National Congress got the distant second position with only 19 elected representatives.

According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP allies Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland Peoples Front secured 10 seats each. On the other hand, a Congress partner, Raijor Dal, won two seats, where another ally, Asom Jatiya Parishad, scored zero. All India United Democratic Front got two, and All India Trinamool Congress received one seat.

Needless to mention that, the close family members of Zubeen urged everyone not to politicise his untimely death and subsequent trials for electoral gains, but some elements put a deaf ear to them. Those notorious entities presumed that in the high-voltage campaign, Zubeen’s unexplained demise in Singapore on 19 September 2025, near Lazarus Island in the sea waters and subsequent investigations, would attract the attention of a large number of voters, more precisely a sizable young population, as they were annoyed with Zubeen’s mysterious demise.

Meanwhile, a coroner’s court in Singapore ruled that the 53-year-old singer died due to accidental drowning, even as investigations in Assam treated the case as a suspected murder.

State Coroner Adam Nakhoda, while delivering his findings, said there was no reason to disagree with the Police Coast Guard’s conclusion after examining all the evidence. A death certificate issued by Singapore General Hospital also listed the cause of death as drowning. The court concluded that he likely lost consciousness in the water, leading to drowning.

The coroner also noted that there was no evidence of foul play, no delay in rescue efforts, and no indication that anyone held him underwater. The vessel’s captain also stated that no one forced Zubeen to consume alcohol or enter the water. Zubeen likely lost consciousness, and his face became submerged in the water.

The Singapore verdict created a fresh political storm in Assam as the opposition parties questioned the claim of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, where the saffron leader publicly stated that Zubeen was murdered under a planned conspiracy.

The opposition leaders even demanded clarity and accountability from the government in Dispur, questioning the integrity of investigations carried out by a special team of Assam police personnel over Zubeen’s death, where murder charges were slapped against four individuals, namely Shyamkanu Mahanta (organiser of 4th NEI Festival in Singapore), the singers’ manager Siddharth Sharma, two co-artistes Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprabha Mahanta.