The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Congress in Assam are trying to outpace each other to woo the tea garden community, as the north-east’s most populous state readies for assembly polls due in March and April next year.
On Sunday, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, his cabinet colleagues and members of the Assam legislative assembly (MLAs) from the ruling coalition launched the ceremonial construction of 119 model high schools in tea gardens across the state.
Around Rs 1.20 crore will be spent on the construction of each school and the total cost is estimated to be Rs 142.50 crore to set up the schools, which are expected to improve academic excellence among children of tea garden workers.
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“The tea community is an integral part of greater Assamese society and it has contributed immensely to the state’s socio-cultural development,” Sonowal said at a programme held at Mekipur tea garden in Sivasagar district in Upper Assam on Sunday.
He blamed the erstwhile state governments of neglecting the community and listed the initiatives by the BJP-led government after the latter came to power for the first time in the state in 2016.
{{/usCountry}}He blamed the erstwhile state governments of neglecting the community and listed the initiatives by the BJP-led government after the latter came to power for the first time in the state in 2016.
{{/usCountry}}The initiatives include money transfer to bank accounts of over 7.21 lakh tea garden workers, wage compensation to pregnant women associated with the industry, Rs 10,000 each to students who pass Grade X and Grade XII students, mobile phones to “sardars”, Rs 25,000 each to 34,000 youth to start their businesses etc.
The opposition Congress, too, has started wooing the community, which was once considered its traditional vote bank.
Jitendra Singh, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and the party’s newly appointed in-charge for Assam, landed at Dibrugarh in tea-rich upper Assam on Sunday for a seven-day visit. His visit coincided with CM Sonowal’s laying of foundation stones of schools for the tea garden community.
Singh spent his first day interacting with leaders from the tea garden community, took part in their folk dances and even spent the night at the house of a tea garden worker.
“My first interaction has been with tea garden workers because they are an important part of Assam’s identity. Their biggest concern is uniform minimum wages. While the state’s BJP government has been doling out money, it hasn’t done anything on this front. We promise to implement this initiative, if we are voted to power,” Singh told media persons.
The tea garden community comprises several indigenous tribes, who were brought to Assam by the colonial Britishers from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal over 150 years ago.
The community makes up around 20% of Assam’s total population and about 1.1 million of them are employed in over 800 tea gardens in the state.
Their votes are a decisive factor in many assembly seats in upper Assam.