Tejashwi Yadav rallies for RJD's lone Assam candidate in Tinsukia; backs '5 guarantees'

Rallying for the 'Mahajot alliance', RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday, lashed out at the BJP government, while addressing a public meeting in Assam's Tinsukia. Claiming that the 'double engine' government had only promoted hatred and stopped all development work in Assam, he urged voters to vote for the Congress-AIUDF-BPF alliance. The Bihar Leader of Opposition also held a roadshow in Tinsukia in support of RJD's lone candidate Hari Devi Chaudhari.

Tejashwi rallies for 'Mahajot' alliance in Assam

Congress releases Assam manifesto

On Saturday,  ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi unveiled the party's manifesto for the upcoming Assam polls. Reiterating Congress' five guarantees - Law against CAA, 5 lakh govt jobs, Rs.365 daily wages to tea garden workers, Rs.2000/month to housewives, and the 200 units of free electricity to each household, Congress also listed its achievements in its 15-yeat term. Assam elections will be held in 3 phases -  March 27, April 1 and April 6, while results will be announced on May 2.

Apart from its five guarantees, Congress has promised several other actions viz:

• Waive off debt for women who have taken loans from microfinance banks
• Weavers will be provided free of cost yarn, loom and other equipment
• Free transport for women
• Debt waiver for farmers
• Paper mills in Panchgram and Jagiroad to be revived
• Pensions of freedom fighters to be extended to CAA protestors
• Religious places to be provided financial assistance older than 50 years
• ST status to six communities - Tai Ahom, Moran, Motok, Chutia, Tea-Tribes and Koch-Rajbangshi

Congress' Assam campaign

The Congress has formed a broad-based alliance with AIUDF, BPF, CPI, CPI(M), Bodoland Democratic Front (BDF) and Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM) to fight the upcoming assembly election against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for 126-member Assam house. CPI(ML) will contest alone, but support the 'Mahajot' alliance and RJD's Tejashwi has assured to campaign for the alliance. Congress has recently released an anti-CAA video in the traditional ‘Bhaowna’ tune, which has gone viral.

The grand alliance formed to  'save Assam' was kicked off by late CM Tarun Gogoi, who had reached out to Ajmal to seal a Congress-AIUDF alliance for the 2021 elections, as per reports - his last political act. Assam witnessed massive protests against the CAA-NRC-NPR, as  Assamese people fear a massive inrush of migrants that will threaten their indigenous culture - violating the Assam accords. The BJP is yet to convince the state subjects of the merits of CAA, after the disastrous NRC drive which resulted in the exclusion of 19 lakh citizens.