Opposition parties in Assam are engaged in a fierce competition to replicate successful models from other states in their quest to win over the crucial tea garden voters.

Each party is vying to outshine the others in their efforts to appeal to this influential demographic.

The leading opposition party in the state, the Congress, has pledged to adopt the successful Karnataka model of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme.

This initiative provides a monthly allowance of ₹2,000 to women who head their families. During a visit to tea garden laborers in Upper Assam, Bhupen Bora, President of the Assam Congress Pradesh Committee, assured them, “In addition to your wages, tea laborers will receive an additional Rs 2000 monthly. We have already implemented this scheme in Karnataka, and we will do the same here.”

The Congress is actively campaigning in Upper Assam, home to a significant number of tea gardens, underscoring that a return to power for the party would bring prosperity to tea garden laborers.

Bobeeta Sharma, Vice President of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), told The Statesman, “During the last assembly elections in Assam, among the five guarantees Congress promised to voters was the Nari Samman scheme, which included a promise of Rs 2,000 per month for women. We are fully committed to delivering on this promise.”

Furthermore, the Trinamool Congress, a relatively new entrant in Assam politics, is leveraging its experience in handling tea tribes in West Bengal as a key selling point.

Bandip Dutta, president of Assam Trinamool Youth Congress, explained to The Statesman, “Our party has worked closely with the tea tribes in West Bengal, and we will apply the same approach to address the concerns of the tea tribes in the state.”

This strategy aims to tap into the Trinamool Congress’s expertise in addressing the issues faced by tea tribes.

The tea tribes constitute approximately 17 per cent of Assam’s total population, which stands at around 31 million, underscoring their significant electoral influence.

Consequently, safeguarding their interests for political purposes has become a top priority for political parties. Hence, with 40 of the 126 seats in the state assembly potentially influenced by the tea community’s preferences, political parties are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to secure their support.

Historically, the tea tribes of Assam trace their origins to the Chotanagpur region in present-day Jharkhand, as well as parts of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Odisha.

In 2016, they shifted their allegiance to the BJP. As the elections draw near, both the Congress and the Trinamool Congress are competing vigorously to entice the tea community by promising higher daily wages and other welfare schemes, intensifying the competition for their support.

However, the ruling BJP in the state is dismissing these efforts as mere political optics.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma remarked, “These Congress workers/leaders who are in Assam are my own people, and there is nothing to worry about. Wherever they go and whoever goes, at the end of the day, they report back to me in the evening.”

Nonetheless, the BJP faces the challenge from keeping its recently acquired voter base intact in the tea gardens.

The Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) recently staged a two-hour protest in front of the deputy commissioner’s office in Dibrugarh. The protesters vehemently criticised both the BJP-led Central and state governments, accusing them of reneging on their promise to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the tea community in the state. They issued a stern ultimatum, warning of a large-scale statewide agitation if the government fails to fulfill its commitment.

In the context of the 2021-22 Budget of Assam, provisions have been earmarked for the comprehensive development of the tea community. The government’s ambitious plan aims to provide assistance to 805 tea estates, ensuring access to tap water connections, piped gas supply, and free electricity for approximately 2,69,648 individuals from the tea tribe. Additionally, in the 2022-23 Budget, the government has proposed substantial infrastructural development support to promote tea tourism.

This initiative seeks to enhance living conditions, healthcare, education, and other amenities for tea garden workers and their families. To boost tea tourism, the government plans to invest up to Rs 2 crore in establishing guest house facilities within 50 selected estates during the fiscal year 2022-23.