Kharge Unveils Five Congress Guarantees for Assam at Lakhimpur Rally

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took the party's Assam election campaign to Lakhimpur on Sunday, addressing a large rally at Kharkati in the Naoboicha constituency where he formally unveiled five guarantees the party is promising voters ahead of the April 9 polls.

The event also featured APCC President Gaurav Gogoi and Asom Jatiya Parishad chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi, with all three leaders training their fire squarely on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the ruling BJP. 

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Kharge laid out the party's core pledges in clear terms:

1. Rs 50,000 in unconditional financial support to every woman for business purposes

2. Rs 25 lakh free cashless health insurance coverage for every family

3. Justice for Zubeen Garg within 100 days of coming to power

4. Conversion of Eksoniya pattas to Miyadi pattas for 10 lakh indigenous people

5. A monthly pension of Rs 1,250 for senior citizens

Kharge drew a sharp contrast between the Congress cash transfer promise and what he described as the BJP's conditional approach to welfare.

"We are calling the cash transfer unconditional as the money which the BJP is giving to women now is conditional. To become a beneficiary, one has to be a member of the BJP, but we won't impose such conditions," he said.

He backed the party's credibility on guarantees by pointing to Congress-governed states. "Such promises have been fulfilled in Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana," he told the crowd.

One of the more striking pledges was a direct commitment on the death of beloved Assamese singer Zubeen Garg.

"We also promise to provide justice to late Zubeen Garg within 100 days of coming to power. We will find out who killed him and what was the conspiracy within that time period," Kharge said.

The promise is likely to resonate deeply in a state where Garg remains a cultural icon, and where questions around his death have lingered in public discourse.

Kharge reserved some of his sharpest words for Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accusing him of creating a climate of fear and deliberately dividing communities.

He pointed to the 2021 elections, when the BJP had contested under Sarbananda Sonowal's leadership. "But after the elections, Sarma removed tribal leader Sonowal to grab the Assam CM's chair," Kharge alleged.

He also questioned the BJP's development narrative, asking whether the party had done as much for Assam and the Northeast as former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Appealing to voters directly, Kharge urged them to back Gaurav Gogoi — whom he called "young, honest, and capable" — rather than what he called "thieves."

APCC President Gaurav Gogoi claimed the rally itself had faced deliberate obstacles, including interference with the helicopter landing arranged for party leadership.

Despite that, he said the large turnout was proof of genuine public momentum behind the Congress.

Gogoi made a sweeping electoral prediction, asserting that the BJP would not win a single seat in Upper and North Assam. "This election is about rescuing Assam," he said.

He also took aim at the alleged political alignment between the BJP and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, calling them "two sides of the same coin," while claiming Ajmal had already been politically weakened after losing Dhubri in 2024.

Asom Jatiya Parishad President Lurinjyoti Gogoi, whose party is part of the opposition alliance, said a wave of change is already sweeping the state.

"It will turn into a tsunami on April 9," he said, adding that voters have made up their minds after what he described as ten years of broken promises by the BJP.