He became a very popular figure and contested the Assembly election from his home constituency at Nazira, a small township situated near the ancient capital of the Ahom kings at Gargaon in the district of Sivasagar, Assam.

Just a few months before the withdrawal of the President's rule in Assam, Saikia parted ways with Sarat Chandra Sinha and he joined Congress (I) in 1980.

In the wake of provincialization, about 2,500 privately run government-aided high schools came under the direct administration of the government, benefitting both students and teachers financially.

He revamped the department, ridding it of the hangovers of the British regime, transforming it into a battalion of uniformed persons who are sentinels of law.

He turned his attention toward bifurcating the Criminal Intelligence Department and creating a Special Branch of it to be run independently.

When Saikia came back from Mizoram to play his role in Assam politics, he was picked up as the President of the APCC (I) by Rajiv Gandhi.

He meant sending the opposite team of Asom Gana Parishad, which entered into the phase of tail enders' game.

When he got scent of the fact that the main contending party of Congress (I), that is, the AGP would be receiving neither covert nor overt support it expected of the ULFA.

He waited to disclose the anticipation of a resounding victory till the arrival of Rajiv Gandhi who was to visit Assam for releasing the Congress(I) election manifesto.

Rajiv Gandhi was fully convinced with the strategies of Saikia and gave him all the responsibility of electioneering in the entire State.

When the ULFA kidnapped fourteen top ranking officials serving directly under the Government of Assam and they were taken as hostages by the militant organization (ULFA) which promised to release them in exchanged of the advanced release of a certain number of their comrades-at-arms who had been arrested under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act rules during the earlier Army operation known as 'Operation Bajrang.'

In such a situation, Chief Minister Saikia made an offer of general amnesty and by way of touching wood, he went to the extent of releasing a good number of ULFA detenus against whom there were no specific charges.

Chief Minister Saikia took an off the track decision to declare giving effect to the idea of granting general amnesty unilaterally expecting the same to be reciprocated by the ULFA with immediate release of the hostages.

He also went on air on 8 July 1991, offering the proposal of holding a meaningful talk with the militant organisation towards a permanent solution of the problem within the framework of the Indian constitution.

It destroyed many training camps, captured still more militant soldiers and also unearthed great many warehouse of arms and ammunitions.

The ULFA came forward with its expressed desired of sitting for discussion towards finding a permanent solution of its grievances within the framework of the Indian constitution.

Everyone acknowledge the spirit of tolerance and forgiveness displayed by Chief Minister Saikia in bringing round most of the ULFA militants to the path of sanity.

Turning his attention to the need of streamlining his liaison wing with persons of proven ability and incorruptible integrity, before whom he can unbag his hunches and premonitions.

Within three months of the Saikia Government's coming to power, a consistently descending curve in the State's crime rate with reference to political murder became visible.

Chief Minister Saikia offering the argument of the necessity of opening up of two Universities simultaneously at Tezpur and Silchar.

He made them meet together and apportioned duties to all the ministers for going to various troubled areas towards personally supervising relief operations assessing the situations thereat.

The meaning of such a blue print: to control the law and order situation which had been on the fringe of anarchy, to contain the communal and ethnic violence, to provide immediate relief and succour to the victims of senseless violence, to manoeuvre the AASU leaders back to the negotiating table, and also to inspire confidence among the sections of people keeping themselves at a distance of the agitationists.

The measure of Saikia's success in the matter may be obtained from the spontaneous words of appreciation in the speech of Prime Minister herself.

Turning his attention to the problems relating to the Assam movement, he tried bringing the AASU leaders to the negotiating table.

Hence his steps and attitudes enabled Rajiv Gandhi to get the Assam Accord signed by the AASU at midnight on the eve of 15 August 1985.

Government of India had been tired of facing violence in that Union Territory as unleashed by Laldenga, the leader of the Mizo National Front (MNF) for quite a number of years.

During the visit to the Don Bosco School at Shillong on 5 July 1987 Saikia took keen interest in vocational training classes.

[14] Manmohan Singh could become a Rajya Sabha member, and thereby a prime minister, chiefly by falsely claiming that he was a resident of Hiteswar Saikia's house in Guwahati.

Doctors insisted to take rest but Saikia refused and continuing on his post-political career until his untimely demise on 22 April 1996 of a cardiac arrest at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, at the age of 61.

[15][16] On the day of his funeral, a Phuraluong Lue Dam worship rite of the Ahom religion was performed by Nagen Hazarika with other Mo'-Luongs or religious priests.