Dibrugarh: In upper Assam’s tea garden belt, comprising Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Charaideo and Golaghat districts, the BJP and its ally, AGP, swept all 25 assembly seats, underlining the decisive role of the mostly Adivasi tea garden voters. While the BJP won 23 seats, AGP secured two.In these five districts of the upper Assam region, Sibsagar, where tea garden voters have little influence, stayed with Raijor Dal leader Akhil Gogoi, a Congress ally, while Majuli was retained by BJP.The tea tribe community, around 70 lakh people or 17% to 20% of Assam’s population, has long been politically significant. Primarily descendants of workers brought from the Chotanagpur plateau during British rule, they were once seen as a dependable Congress vote bank. That changed in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when their support shifted sharply to the BJP.“The community’s shift to the BJP beginning in 2014 has been one of the most consequential electoral realignments in Assam’s political history. This election confirms that the shift is not just a passing phase — it has become structural,” said Rupak Bhattacharjee, a political analyst tracking the upper Assam voting pattern.The result was especially important in Dibrugarh district, where the BJP faced uncertainty in Duliajan and Khowang. Despite expectations of a tougher contest, BJP candidates won both seats, with analysts crediting the tea tribe voters as the decisive factor.“In Duliajan and Khowang, the tea tribe voters made all the difference. Without that support, the outcome could have been very different for the BJP,” Bhattacharjee noted.There had been speculation that frustration over the unresolved demand for ST status for the Adivasi tea community and five other indigenous groups might hurt the BJP’s poll prospects. However, that did not materialize at the ballot box. Analysts said the BJP retained support through targeted welfare promises and pre-election measures aimed at tea garden workers.In its manifesto, the BJP promised to raise daily wages for tea workers to Rs 500 within five years and provide land rights to eligible tea tribe families. Before the election, the state government raised daily wages by Rs 30, from Rs 250 to Rs 280, benefiting over seven lakh workers. It also gave a one-time payment of Rs 5,000 under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Eti Koli Duti Paat Asoni’ scheme. These steps appeared to have strengthened trust in the BJP and helped secure its dominance of the upper Assam’s tea belt.
