Guwahati/Silchar/Hailakandi/Karimganj (Assam): “If we don’t vote for them [the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)], our houses might be bulldozed. That’s what we have heard. We are Indians, I am scared of only God, but others in my village are worried,” said Ismat Ali, a vegetable seller in Patharkandi constituency in Karimganj district in Assam. Incumbent BJP MLA from Patharkandi constituency and state minister Krishnendu Paul, however, said that the saffron party “doesn’t indulge in vote bank politics,” adding, “Bulldozers will operate whether people vote for us or not.”An election banner of BJP MLA from Patharkandi constituency and state minister Krishnendu Paul in Narayanpur, Patharkandi in Karimganj. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.There have been many government department-led eviction drives in Patharkandi in the recent past due to alleged encroachments in forest land, government property, and common land, among others. The government in Assam conducted at least 33 documented eviction operations and demolished more than 22,000 structures, mostly homes in almost five years between May 2021 and January 2026, according to a report published by The New Humanitarian. Notably, most of these homes belonged to Bengali-speaking Muslims. A conversation with many people like Ismat made it clear that this fear of eviction (directly or indirectly) has been encouraged by the BJP members in the state to convince voters to support the saffron party in this assembly election today (April 9). Also read: Tea Garden Workers’ Vote Is Crucial in Assam, But Those in Silchar Have a Trust IssueTravels in the region reveal a complex story. Assam’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma may say he does not want the vote of Muslims (34.22% of the population as per the 2011 census) but the outreach by the BJP to this significant section of the population is at many levels, leveraging both, the fear that poorer sections of Muslims feel as well as enticing them with the promise of funds, especially to OBC Muslims here. The Assam government has been accused of selectively leaving out women who are not seen as the saffron party’s vote bank, this correspondent found many cases where people were left out – and provided Rs 9,000 to four million women in the state through Orunodoi 3.0, the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme on March 10, controversially, just five days before the Election Commission announced the complete schedule for the assembly polls. BJP denies it has been selective with disbursement of funds.Flashback: On July 16, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on electoral freebies, referring to them as “revdi” during the inauguration of the Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh. “This Revdi culture is very dangerous for the development of the country. Those with Revdi culture will never build new expressways, new airports or defense corridors for you. Together we have to defeat this thinking, remove Revdi culture from the politics of the country,” Modi had said. §In Assam, this electorally-motivated selection of people for providing welfare schemes or what Modi referred as revdi has made many recipients fearful. They fear that if they don’t vote for the saffron party their names might be removed from the list and they may not be able to avail of these schemes. But some say they are willing to vote for the saffron party because, “when did the Congress government give so much money?” There are also some who are left out and wonder what criteria the government follows for selecting people to disburse funds under these schemes. In Monachara bazar in Hailakandi which falls under Algapur-Katlicherra assembly constituency, Sharaf Laskar said no one in his neighbourhood has received money under Orunodoi 3.0.“I think many genuine people who should have received government funds have been left out. My mother is above 80 years old. She is a widow. When Orunodoi was first launched during the Covid pandemic she did get money. Now, her name is not there in the list. No one I know has received any money. Shouldn’t the government first help widows, single women who aren’t financially independent and disabled people?” asks Sharaf, a fruit seller. Rafiqul Alam (extreme left), Innus Ali (second-left), Sheikh Arab Ali (second right) and Sheikh Hashim Uddin (right) in Sheikh Para, Bodo Hailakandi in Halakandi district which falls in Algapur-Katlicherra assembly constituency. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.On the contrary, in Sheikh Para in Bodo Hailakandi in Hailakandi district, an elated Innus Ali, who owns a stationary store, underlined that 201 people from their village had voted for the BJP candidate Kripanath Mallah in the last Lok Sabha polls from Karimganj seat. 250 people there have received funds under the Orunodoi scheme last month, he said.“We are very happy. The BJP government recognises us. We are with them. We will vote for the BJP alliance candidate,” Innus said. He belongs to the Maimal community – OBC Muslims engaged in fishing – that predominantly lives in the three districts of Barak Valley – Silchar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. From Innus’s village, Rafiqul Alam, burst the bubble. “Please check the voting data. If we didn’t vote for the BJP, then Kripanath Mallah wouldn’t have won the last [Lok Sabha] election. But he never visited us after winning the polls. We don’t have piped water to drink. Earlier we used to take water from a common pipe. Since the last three-four months no water flows in that pipe either. Every year water enters our houses during floods.” People in Sheikh Para, Bodo Hailakandi in Hailakandi district used these cut pipes as a source of drinking water. But in the last few months water doesn’t flow from these pipes too. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.“The chief minister promised us Scheduled Caste status and we are hopeful that we will get it after this election. No matter what, we will only vote for the BJP. We are just upset that we haven’t been provided even basic amenities. I’m saying all this out of sadness, I’m not against the BJP,” Rafiqul, who trades areca nut, said. Jahanara Begum stands in front of a pond with muddy water which is her source for drinking water in Sheikh Para, Bodo Hailakandi in Hailakandi district. Piped connection for drinking water is not available in many villages across the Barak Valley region in Assam. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.Innus and Rafiqul underlined that the BJP invites them to attend meetings in the district and even outside the district for discussion on “important issues”. “The Congress never gave us respect, the BJP did. You would have heard in the news that the chief minister speaks about us. He does look after us and we are happy about it,” Innus said. They also vote in the Algapur-Katlicherra assembly constituency in which the BJP’s ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has fielded former All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Zakir Hussain Laskar. Three assembly constituencies in Hailakandi have been converted into two seats post delimitation – Hailkandi and Algapur-Katlicherra. While Hailkandi is no longer a Muslim dominated seat, Algapur-Katlicherra remains dominated by Muslims. The Congress has nominated Zubair Anam here, widely touted as a “Gen Z candidate”.The BJP has been making a concerted effort to reach out to people belonging to OBC Muslim communities – Kiran Sheikhs, tenant farmers who tilled the land of big zamindars, and Maimal – in the Barak Valley. The manner in which the villagers residing in Sheikh Para expressed their gratitude underlines the fact that they realise not everyone has been able to avail these government schemes. A few kilometres away, many women in Nitainagar village in Hailakandi – a predominantly Muslim village which falls under the same constituency – said they haven’t received money through Orunodoi 3.0.Sandhya Nandi, a BJP worker in Ramkrishna Nagar constituency. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.In Ramkrishna Nagar constituency, local BJP worker Sandhya Nandi suggested that though the BJP supports “some” Muslims, they “only pretend” to back the saffron party. “They [Muslims] eat from one party and sing songs of another party. We really don’t bother about them,” Sandhya said. In North Karimganj, however, the BJP hopes to get the votes of Muslim women. “We have never seen so many Muslim women come out to shop. You should have seen the Kaliganj village market a day before Eid. Why would these Muslim women [who have received Rs 9000] not express their gratitude by voting for the BJP?” Shyamal Biswas, Bagbari Bireshwar panchayat president said.Many people in the neighbouring Srimanta Kanishail village, which has a large section of Muslim voters and falls in the North Karimganj constituency, underlined that “votes will be divided” between the BJP and Congress as “some women have received money from government schemes”. North Karimganj has a sizable Muslim population though it is a Hindu majority constituency. On the ground, BJP members have refused to admit that non-BJP supporters are not included on the list for government schemes. “At least in our area people who don’t vote for the BJP have been included on the list. Sometimes Aadhaar can’t be verified or there’s some other issue that’s why people are left out,” Pritam Suklabaidya, BJP booth committee member in Narayannpur, Patharkandi said. For schemes like Orunodoi, the gram panchayat sends a list of people eligible for availing the scheme to Block Development Officer (BDO) and the final list is prepared by a district-level committee which includes the deputy commissioner. Vikas Tripathi, associate professor in Political Science in Gauhati University underlined that this “beneficiary-focussed” politics has been a reality in Indian politics since 2022. “Although the BJP spoke against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, they are now doing the same beneficiary focussed politics now. In Assam it is being done in a major way. It is a way to reach out to different communities too. Orunodoi isn’t the only scheme, there are other schemes like Nijut Moina Asoni, Nijut Babu Asoni for students availing higher education. They have benefitted a lot of students. These are first time voters and their votes will be decisive,” he said. He added: “Although we don’t have significant women representation in politics, electorally women votes are crucial and women do come out to cast their votes in huge numbers. Many schemes are targeted towards women. Due to this women vote factor many incumbent governments have returned to power in other states in recent times. But AAP lost in Delhi despite beneficiary politics. So it remains to be seen what will happen here in Assam.”Other parties? From Yusuf Pathan to Saayoni Ghosh, South Karimganj saw a spate of celebrity-turned-politicians campaigning for Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA candidate Aziz Ahmed Khan, alias Ranu Khan. Ranu Khan had earlier won the South Karimganj seat in 2016 on an AIUDF ticket. A Trinamool Congress (TMC) booth in Fakira Bazar in South Karimganj constituency for the party’s MLA candidate Aziz Ahmed Khan, alias Ranu Khan. Photo: The Wire.South Karimganj remains one of the few Muslim dominated constituencies in the state. Karimganj earlier had five seats in total. Post delimitation there are only four seats including the SC-reserved Ramkrishna Nagar constituency. There is a three-way contest in the South Karimganj seat between Congress’s Shamim Choudhury, AGP’s Iqbal Hussain and Ranu Khan. However, most voters are inclined towards Shamim and the TMC nominee. Iqbal belongs to the Kiran community as a result many Muslims, not belonging to the OBC category, might not vote for him. There are allegations that Shamim distributed tickets in exchange of money during the panchayat polls which has caused rift among the local Congress cadre. “We had elected a BJP MLA Mission Ranjan Das before and then we had a Congress MLA Kamalakhya Purkhastya all these years. Just look at our main road, nobody built it properly yet. We have to spend so much money to even reach Karimganj town. We are thinking it would be better to give a chance to a new party [TMC] this time,” Abdul Qayum Choudhury, a farmer in Shutarkandi said. There are some, however, who believe that the TMC may have only one or two representatives in the Assam assembly post this election and that would not make them strong as an opposition party.“Even if the TMC candidate wins he might end up either joining the Congress or BJP. Then what’s the point? It is better to vote either for Congress and its alliance or BJP-AGP,” Jyotsna Malakar, a teacher, said. “My mother has received Orunodoi. Many people in my extended family have also received it. Congress has never provided so much money. Lotus has benefited us.”TMC is contesting 23 seats in Assam. The party will dent Congress’s prospects in some constituencies. Similarly, the AIUDF is contesting 29 seats. Their influence in Upper Assam region is negligible and their support base in Barak Valley has also shifted either towards the Congress or AGP and in some cases the TMC.But, they will likely have an impact on some seats in the Lower Assam region, particularly in Binnakandi where the party chief Badruddin Ajmal himself is contesting. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Lok Sabha MP Assaduddin Owaisi also campaigned for the party ahead of the polls. In the Upper Assam region, the Congress had won only five of the 34 constituencies in the last assembly elections; one seat increased here post delimitation. This time the party is expected to perform better due to a last minute alliance with Raijor Dol and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).Jharkhand chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Hemant Soren greets supporters during a public meeting in support of the party’s candidate from Bhergaon constituency Prabhat Das Panika, ahead of the state assembly elections, in Assam. Photo: Handout via PTI.The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), contesting 21 seats in the state for the first time, was seen as a threat to the BJP initially because they were eyeing the votes of tea garden workers who had migrated from Jharkhand many decades ago such as Santhal, Munda, Oraon and Kurukh communities. Jharkhand chief minister and JMM president Hemant Soren addressed a massive rally in Tingkhong constituency in Dibrugarh where the party has nominated Mahavir Baske. He has also campaigned in Sarupathar assembly constituency in Golaghat and Gossaigaon in Kokrajhar, among others.Political observers point out that the JMM will get some votes but the majority of the tea tribes are likely to lean towards the saffron party in the Upper Assam constituencies owing to welfare schemes. “It was increasingly said that JMM will spoil the BJP’s prospects. But it doesn’t look like that. People are very happy with the welfare schemes,” journalist Avik Chakraborty, said. Even among the tea workers there’s a fear that in case the BJP is voted back to power in the state they might not be able to avail government schemes if they don’t vote for them. Congress and the BJP, both remain divided houses“If you see all the northeastern states, you will notice that many former Congress leaders have switched sides and joined the BJP. The same happened in Assam in recent years. Just before elections so many big leaders left. That’s the BJP’s calculated strategy,” Vikas said. Over the years, several Congress leaders have jumped ship and joined the BJP. There is an increasing lack of trust among many district-level Congress workers on their immediate leadership whom they view as “Himanta’s men”. The friction among Congress workers is widely visible across the state. Several workers of the grand old party have underlined that they would prefer to not be seen actively engaging in opposition politics since the “vindictive” BJP government might harm their business prospects and other interests if they return to power in the state.Also read: Assam is Polarised but Even Himanta’s Supporters Aren’t Comfortable with His ‘Language’“I have worked for our local candidate but if the BJP forms the government in the state, people like me will be unnecessarily harassed. I think it’s better to be quiet for some time before results,” said a Congress member in Hailakandi constituency on conditions of anonymity. A day before polling, on Wednesday (April 8), Congress’s candidate for the Udalguri (ST) constituency, Suren Daimari announced his resignation from the party citing “lack of organisational support and communication from the state leadership”. Kamalenda Nath, an unemployed youth in Ramkrishna Nagar. Photo: Tamanna Naseer.Although some voters are talking about the issues that bother them on a day-to-day basis, the lack of coordination between state leadership and the local Congress members reflects on the fact that increasing corruption at every administrative level and lack of jobs which is forcing many youth to move away from the state remained largely absent from discussions during the opposition campaign trail.“Today, if one goes to register land or steps in a government office for any work, a few thousands have to be paid in bribes otherwise files don’t move. It is not Himanta Biswa Sarma’s fault. Corruption is happening at every level but who will keep track?” Kamalenda Nath, an unemployed youth who is preparing for government jobs in Ramkrishna Nagar, said. “It is also true that our local MLA Bijoy Malakar has built many roads in our area.”All is not well within the BJP as well. There’s this sense among old BJP workers in many places that only former Congress leaders are given weightage in the party especially when it comes to contesting elections. But the internal party democracy forces the saffron party members to not revolt publicly for long. “The opposition can only promise but the government delivers. It helps to remain associated with the ruling party. That’s why even panchayat members in Lower Assam and Barak Valley associate themselves with the BJP though they don’t use the party symbol to contest the polls. For the local level workers, remaining engaged in some way to disburse these welfare schemes is also a great networking opportunity, hence the BJP has expanded its workers base in the state,” Vikas explained. As Assam votes and one of the most polarising elections in Indian politics comes to an end, it will be interesting to see on May 4 if the BJP manages to return to power by relying on the selective revdi politics – which it once derided – and highlighting flyovers in cities like Guwahati or the lack of sufficient number of jobs, absence of garbage disposal facilities, proper healthcare and flood management triggers change.