Assam’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday released its election manifesto for the Assembly polls, promising to increase the monthly handout for women under the Orunodoi scheme to Rs 3,000 if it retains power for a third term.
The beneficiaries currently receive Rs 1,250 per month.
The Hindutva party made 31 promises, including implementing the 1950 Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act to expedite the “detection and pushback of illegal immigrants” and “freeing every inch” of land allegedly encroached by them.
The Act grants power to district commissioners and senior superintendents of police to expel “illegal migrants” from the state by bypassing the Foreigners’ Tribunals.
Foreigners’ Tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship. They have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and of declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory.
Additionally, the police in several states ruled by the BJP have been detaining Bengali-speaking persons – mostly Muslims – and asking them to prove that they are Indian citizens since April 2025.
Several persons have been forced into Bangladesh after they allegedly could not prove their Indian citizenship. In some cases, persons who were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh returned to the country after the state authorities in India proved that they were Indians.
In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has also repeatedly claimed that the state government was committed to ensuring an “infiltration-free” Assam, claiming that about 35 to 40 “illegal” immigrants were being “pushed back” every week.
BJP promises UCC, law against ‘love jihad’
In its manifesto released on Tuesday, the BJP also said that it would “strengthen the legislative protections to preserve the civilisation, heritage and rights” of the residents of Assam by implementing a Uniform Civil Code.
A Uniform Civil Code refers to a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religious and tribal groups are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.
Introducing a common personal law has for long been on the BJP’s agenda. Several states ruled by the party have been making advances towards implementing such a code.
In January 2025, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand became the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code after Independence. The Gujarat Assembly cleared a similar legislation on March 24 amid protests by the Opposition. A common civil code has been in place in Goa since the Portuguese Civil Code was adopted in 1867.
Legal experts have said that Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code is drawn primarily from Hindu personal law and could lead to the erasure of the personal law practices of minority communities.
The Hindutva party, in its manifesto in Assam, further said that it would formulate an “effective” Act to end “love jihad”.
Love jihad is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men trick Hindu women into romantic relationships with the aim of converting them to Islam. The Union home ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining such a term.
Infrastructure and education
The BJP said that it would invest Rs 5 lakh crore to “position Assam as India’s eastern gateway”, and ensure the timely completion of projects such as roadways, railways, airways and waterways.
It added that employment and self-employment opportunities for the youth would be provided by ensuring an additional two lakh government jobs, entrepreneurial opportunities and maritime sector jobs.
Financial assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh to cover 10 lakh youth under the Chief Minister’s Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan to support the creation of new entrepreneurial ventures would also be provided, it said.
The manifesto added that Rs 25,000 would continue to be provided to fresh graduates to prepare for their jobs under the Chief Minister’s Jibon Prerana scheme.
The Hindutva party also said that it would ensure free education from kindergarten to postgraduate studies for the poor.
Speaking while releasing the manifesto, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the document was prepared on “a decade of transformation of the state, which the Congress could not achieve in 60 years”, The Hindu reported.
She added: “The Congress had no focus on long-term development of the North East as that is what its politics is all about”.
The polls will be held on April 9 and the votes will be counted on May 4.
Also read: The cash handout burden and its underlying politics
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