Voting Lines Now Open

For those who might have forgotten: The 1983 elections were thrust upon Assam against the wishes of the people who, under the banner of the All Assam Students8217; Union AASU, were seeking a solution to the Bangladeshi infiltration issue first.

The result was terrible: A total boycott and resistance led to the death of 500-odd students and other protesters at the hands of the police, while election could be technically completed in only 109 of the state8217;s 126 constituencies. Candidates like veteran Congressman Bhumidhar Barman won by polling only about 100 votes.

Root Cause

SINCE then, though, elections have been a different story. The turnout has always hovered above 70 per cent8212;much higher than many other states8217;8212;and the election atmosphere resembles that of a festival.

This demonstration of faith in the democratic system could have something to do with the deep roots of the institution in this part of the country. The tribal village council, the Assamese village naam-ghar, the Ahom system of recalling a king when the people turned against him have helped drill in democratic norms among the people.

8216;8216;Ask any person in public life, especially in politics, and he will tell you he learnt the basics of the democratic system in the local moina parijat,8217;8217; says Brindaban Goswami, president of the Asom Gana Parishad AGP and chief ministerial-hopeful.

Moina parijat is a unique-to-Assam children8217;s institution based on the principles of participation and collective decision-making and focusing on issues related to the uplift of society. Many of today8217;s high-profile Assamese were active members of moina parijat in their childhood.

8216;8216;I was part of it too,8217;8217; says veteran Congressman and chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

Fringe Benefit

THE story of democracy in Assam is also the story of the arrival of tribals. This is reflected in not just the active participation of the tribals8212;be they the Bodos, Karbis, Mishings or Rabhas8212;in the election process, but also in the number of tribals getting elected to the state assembly over the years. The outgoing assembly has 23 tribal legislators, seven elected from non-reserved seats.

While tribals fondly recall the contribution of Dharanidhar Basumatary in the Constituent Assembly, leaders like Lalit Chandra Doley, Malchandra Pegu and Chatrasingh Teron dominated the state8217;s post-independence decades.

Right now, 8216;tribal8217; leaders G C Langthasa, Holiram Terang and Pramila Rani Brahma dominate state politics. If Langthasa is the seniormost Congress leader in the state today, then Pramila Rani Brahma has been the most articulate participant in any debate in the state assembly in the past decade or longer.

The marginalised-to-mainstream movement is as true of tea labourers, a community that forged a distinct identity after arriving in Assam from different parts of central India as well as Telangana.

8216;8216;Tea labourers are indeed inseparable from this game of democracy. They have been part of the decision-making process, and have occupied important positions like the Speaker of the Assembly and made it to both Houses of Parliament,8217;8217; says Paban Singh Ghatowar, former Union minister, past president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee and son of a labourer in Dummordullung tea estate.

Big names from this community include five-time MLA Rameswar Dhanowar from the oil township of Digboi and Prithvi Majhi, Speaker of the outgoing assembly, as well as prominent regional politicos Joseph Toppo and Bhadreswar Tanti. The community decides at least 23 of the 126 constituencies.

EC8217;S Watching

THAT said, poll-watchers and participants insist that Election Commission strictures have made the elections a dull affair this year. But even as Kamini Ranjan Baruah, retired college teacher and a candidate in Dibrugarh in Upper Assam compares the EC to exam invigilators, he admits, 8216;8216;Expenditures are down. Most importantly, the common man is not harassed.8217;8217;

Several political parties, though, have been put out: The Congress, for instance, had to deny a ticket to its education minister Hem Prakash Narayan after the EC found him using a government-funded building to distribute yarn and other material among voters. At least two ministers had to pay a token fine, after getting caught while using official vehicles for poll work.

In Upper Assam, where the Congress is accused of influencing the illiterate and semi-illiterate tea labourers with various articles8212;including liquor8212;on election eve, vigilance has so far triumphed.

But part of the calm, at least, can be attributed to the paucity of noisy poll planks. 8216;8216;There is no major issue. The anti-incumbency factor is merely an undercurrent, making it difficult to assess the situation or predict the likely verdict,8217;8217; says Renuka Devi Barkataki, a minister in Morarji Desai8217;s Janata Party government over 30 years ago, who is no longer in active politics.

Ignored Issues

IRONICALLY, there is no dearth of issues for the man on the street. For the 116-household Gossaingaon village, on the Assam-Arunachal border, for instance, basic amenities like drinking water, road connectivity, sanitation, education and healthcare continue to be beyond their grasp. Not a single family has proper land ownership documents, while only one person has a government job.

The Human Development Report published by the Assam government in 2003 reflects this: Over 11 per cent of the population is not expected to live beyond 40; over 36 per cent do not have safe drinking water; over 13 per cent do not have access to healthcare; around 76 per cent do not have pucca dwelling houses.

But no political party8212;except the AGP, fleetingly8212;focuses on this area. And, more importantly, no political party other than the BJP has promised to do anything about the vexed Bangladeshi infiltration issue.

If, in 1983, the people boycotted the elections demanding a solution to the issue, today, nobody even wants to talk about the 3.5 lakh voters whose citizenship was dubbed 8216;doubtful8217; by the EC. Not even the EC: repeated media requests for a constituency-wise break-up of 8216;doubtful8217; voters have fallen on deaf ears.

It is only the All Assam Students8217; Union AASU that is interested in asking these questions. 8216;8216;Every political party, and that includes the BJP, has betrayed the people of Assam. They all want to use the Bangladeshi infiltrators as a vote bank,8217;8217; fumes Samujjal Bhattacharyya, advisor of the student body.

Even the response of the ULFA is muted. Unlike previous elections, when it either boycotted or blatantly threw its weight behind one party, this time, it8217;s ambiguous at best.

8216;8216;The people should cast their votes after examining which party or individual is talking about an assurance for protection of Assam8217;s sovereignty. It is also time for the people to reject parties which have no definite answer at hand to solve the Indo-Assamese conflict,8217;8217; an ULFA appeal says. No one is quite sure what it means.

Despite that, the people will come out to vote. Bihu, after all, is just two weeks away.

WHO WANTS TO BE A CHIEF MINISTER?

Brindaban Goswami, AGP
If the AGP gets at least 50 seats, its president is almost certain to be the next CM. The AGP does not have alliances, but has adjustments with the CPI, CPIM, Autonomous State Demand Committee ASDC and a faction of the Bodoland People8217;s Progressive Front BPPF. Goswami claims he cleaned up the AGP image after the disgraced Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was expelled from the party.

Tarun gogoi Congress
After an unremarkable five years in power, during which investments and job-creation remained static, Gogoi is hoping to come back on the strength of the law and order situation. 8216;8216;People can now move around in the towns till well after midnight,8217;8217; he has said, though he ruined the effect somewhat by adding that 8216;8216;no decent person8217;8217; stays up at night. His own party, though, is not projecting him as CM-candidate.

Bhubaneswar kalita, Congress
That honour goes to this Rajiv Gandhi loyalist and PCC chief. Rather a colourless candidate, he was a poor industry minister in the Gogoi cabinet till he moved laterally to head the PCC. But if the Congress touches 63 seats, this is the man who8217;ll wear the crown.

Hijoya chakravarty, BJP
Firebrand politician, Gogoi8217;s college contemporary, former athlete and twice MP, once as AGP nominee to Rajya Sabha and once as BJP candidate to Lok Sabha. As water resource minister in Vajpayee8217;s government, she failed to put an end to Assam8217;s perennial flood problem.

Prafulla kumar mahanta agp Progressive
Ousted from the AGP, he now heads a breakaway faction called AGP Progressive, and is likely to slice away votes from several important AGP leaders. If there8217;s a hung house, he believes he could be CM.