India, April 16 -- In the assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal, one of the key things will be how the electoral contest gets shaped by deepening religious polarisation and the Opposition parties' concerns about the neutrality of institutions tasked with election management, oversight and regulation.

For perspective, consider the following facts: In Assam, the 2023 delimitation exercise reportedly reduced the number of Muslim-dominated constituencies. And the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has shrunk the electoral rolls by nine million in West Bengal, with a large number of deletions of Muslim electors.

According to Census 2011, Muslims account for about 34% of the electorate in Assam and 27% in West Bengal. Muslim voters are el...