3 min readApr 2, 2026 06:12 AM IST
First published on: Apr 2, 2026 at 06:10 AM IST
The election manifesto appeals to the voter, to garner support; it lays the terms of the contract between the political party and the electorate. But manifestoes also carry a deeper message about the politics, values and vision of those who seek power over the people, in their name. The BJP’s manifesto in Assam and Congress’s “Five Guarantees”, both released earlier this week, show the ruling party and the principal opposition in poor light. The Himanta Biswa Sarma government has doubled down on divisive politics, relying on creating suspicion and fear, rather than offering a vision of hope. For its part, Congress has not challenged the government’s polarising politics head-on. Instead, its grand “guarantees” merely tinker with the existing welfare schemes and it seeks to co-opt cultural flashpoints like the death of singer Zubeen Garg.
The BJP’s manifesto echoes the spectres CM Sarma has often sought to raise. It promises implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, laws against “love jihad” and “land jihad” and more “pushbacks” against alleged illegal migrants from Bangladesh. The party seeks to achieve the latter through the recently revived Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950. The manifesto also mentions enhanced allocations under welfare schemes. Congress has promised Rs 50,000 to women in the state to “start and grow businesses”, Rs 25 lakh health insurance cover for families, an increase in senior citizens’ pensions and permanent pattas for indigenous inhabitants. Its promise of justice for Garg within 100 days is a cynical attempt to capitalise on the singer’s popularity, given that the Singapore police have ruled his death an accident.
The manifesto promises are symptoms of a deeper malaise: The major players in Assam, which are also the two largest political parties on the national stage, seem bereft of new ideas. Assam faces serious new issues, including climate-related events and questions around the rapidly changing nature of work and employment. It is undergoing a prolonged reckoning with the assertion of regional identity in a context of increasing diversity. The answers will not be found in more cash transfers or in throwing around the epithet of “jihad”. Going by their poll promises, neither the BJP nor Congress seems up to the challenge of addressing voter predicaments in thoughtful or imaginative ways.
