Countdown To Assam Polls: Tea Workers Get Land Deeds, But ₹351 Wage Manifesto Promise Not Fulfilled

There was traffic on the highway from Guwahati to Kokrajhar early on a Friday morning. Goods trucks lined one side of the road. None of this was usual. The traffic wasn’t routine either. Tempo Travellers and buses were ferrying people from Guwahati to Kokrajhar ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit. Trucks had been forced to pull over and wait until the rally was done.But none of it mattered in the end. The rain gods had other plans. They played havoc with the schedule, and the Prime Minister had to cancel his visit to the region.

Everyone waited. Mostly in vain.In the end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to unveil projects worth over ₹4,570 crore in Assam’s Kokrajhar district virtually on Friday, not quite what the BJP had hoped for. The Prime Minister will stay overnight in the city and travel to Silchar on Saturday to unveil projects worth about ₹23,550 crore.

He also virtually took part in the bhoomi poojan for four flyovers and two bridges in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) area, projects expected to be developed at an investment of around ₹1,100 crore.One of the major highlights of the visit was the ceremonial distribution of land deeds to about 28,000 tea garden workers living in the labour lines of major tea estates across poll-bound Assam.It is also worth remembering that in its 2016 manifesto, the BJP government had promised to raise the minimum daily wage of tea garden workers to ₹351. Nearly a decade later, that promise remains unfulfilled.

In March 2026, the Assam cabinet approved an interim wage increase of ₹30 per day for tea garden workers, effective April 1, 2026. That brings the daily wage to ₹280 in the Brahmaputra Valley and ₹258 in the Barak Valley. It’s a long way to go from the promised ₹351.Several critics argue that the ceremonial distribution of land deeds conveniently shifts attention away from that long-standing promise. The move also gained momentum after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren addressed a rally in Assam’s Biswanath district recently.

During the rally, Soren spoke about the hardships faced by tea garden workers and Adivasi communities in the state. Many observers see this as an attempt by Soren to expand his political influence in Assam.Assam has more than 10 lakh tea workers in the organised sector, employed across nearly 850 large estates. The state accounts for around 55% of India’s total tea production. The tea belts in the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys are home to over 60 lakh people. Tea tribe voters, who play a significant role in deciding outcomes in about 30–35 constituencies, largely shifted towards the BJP during the 2016 Assembly elections.

The Prime Minister also released the 22nd installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, transferring over ₹18,640 crore to more than 9.32 crore farmers across the country. Around 19 lakh of those beneficiaries are in Assam.Election fever hasn’t quite gripped Assam yet. But the Bharatiya Janata Party seems keen to suggest otherwise.

PM Modi is on a two-day visit to the state just as the Chief Election Commissioner prepares to announce the Assembly election dates for five states, Assam included. The CEC, Gyanesh Kumar, was in Kolkata only two days ago.

An Election Commission of India team led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar visited Assam in the third week of February to review the state’s preparedness for the polls. Most political parties have requested that the election be held in a single phase, and many would prefer voting to take place before Bihu, which falls in mid-April.

The team’s visit came a week after the publication of the final voter list following the Special Revision process in the state. The final list showed a net decrease of 2.43 lakh voters compared with the draft roll published in December. Assam did not undergo a Special Intensive Revision, only a Special Revision. The final electoral roll now contains more than 2.49 crore voters.The process became contentious after large numbers of voters received objections to their inclusion in the electoral roll, many of which were later found to be false.

This comes as the BJP prepares to seek a third consecutive term in the 2026 Assam Legislative Assembly elections under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. However, the party hasn’t yet been able to finalise its seat-sharing talks with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).