GOROIMARI (CHAYGAON): Voters in Achalpara village here, one of the Muslim-majority pockets which went to the polls in the third and last phase of the election on Tuesday, exercised their franchise, not for the welfare schemes that the government has rolled out, but to "escape the D voter (doubtful) label" and to exercise their democratic right.
There are a few Assamese Hindu families here, for whom mega beneficiary schemes like Orunodoi, have been of help. But equally important for them is the prevention of infiltration.
The areas dominated by the minorities comprise four village panchayats on the southern banks of the Brahmaputra and they have been voting for either the Congress or the AIUDF in the last decade.
The BJP did try to push its way into this area but finally had to rely on its ally, the Asom Gana Parishad’s (AGP) old warhorse Kamala Kanta Kalita, who is in the fray for the BJP-led alliance against the Congress-AIUDF led Mahajot.
There has hardly been any development in these areas. Marginal farmer Wahidur Rahman, who is in his fifties, said no one has really benefited from the welfare schemes.
He said he has been running from pillar to post in the last few weeks to enrol the name of his aunt, who is a widow, for the Orunodoi scheme where needy women are given a consolidated sum of Rs 830 every month. Banking on the mega scheme launched last year, the BJP has promised to convert this amount to Rs 3,000, if voted to power.
Wahidur has been making a living out of farming in the nearby char (sand bar) areas of the Brahmapura. “In our village, we don’t have any major agricultural project, though more than 90% of the families depend on agriculture. The beneficiary forms are even circulated through political agents. Such is the nature of governance here. We only vote to prove our rights as Indians,” said Wahidur.
Pucca roads built in the area in the last five years have improved connectivity, but better educational infrastructure and healthcare facilities still remain a distant dream.
Farmers and fishermen have failed to get fair price. But more worrying has been the erosion caused by the Brahmaputra.
“In my childhood, the river was barely 3 km away from our house. Constant erosion has reduced this gap to 300 meter! The existence of many families is under threat,” he said.
A large number of people in and around Achalpara migrated from the chars in the middle of Brahmaputra, in search of a dignified living. But apart from getting respite from floods, nothing much changed. An insignificant percentage of people from the area got jobs in the private and government sectors.
On the other side of Goroimari, the plight of the Hindus remains almost the same as far as education, health and employment opportunities are concerned.
But they exist with dignity as the 1,000-strong Hindus have not been classified as D voters. Many Muslim villagers have been receiving notices of D voters from the police for over two decades, though 90-95% of the people, it is said, have managed to enter their names in the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Hindu voters have little to complain about as the state government has pumped in funds to give a facelift to the revered Goroimari Satra (Vaishnavite Monastery). The Sonowal government has symbolized the Satras with the glory of Assamese civilization.
“The families near the Satra have also reaped the benefits of schemes launched by the BJP-led government,” said Paresh Kalita from the Hindu pocket.
“Our villagers were not deprieved of Orunodoi and other schemes. Those who were not registered for the schemes will hopefully get the benefits from the next government,” he said.
With Hindus, believed to be the early settlers of the area, the regional forces turned the Hindu belt here into a bastion of AGP since the Assam Agitation days.
Alongside the development agenda and beneficiary schemes, the Hindus are unlikely to give up their battle against illegal migration, in which they believe in the leadership of AGP and Kalita.
“Most people in our village are AGP supporters. The election campaign shows this quite clearly. Since 1985, hardly any family has changed its camp,” Paresh said.