In a significant pre-election push, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) officially launched its ambitious grassroots campaign, "Raijor Podulit Raijor Congress", from Dibrugarh on Friday. The initiative is centered around crowdsourcing ideas directly from the public to formulate a people-driven manifesto for the upcoming state assembly elections scheduled for early next year.
A Campaign Built on Public Aspirations
The launch event was spearheaded by APCC president Gaurav Gogoi, with manifesto committee chairman Pradyut Bordoloi and other prominent leaders in attendance. The gathering saw a diverse participation from numerous community organizations across eastern Assam, including representatives from tea workers' unions, student groups, professional associations, and cultural bodies.
At the heart of the campaign is the introduction of "aspirational boxes"—physical containers meant to collect written suggestions, grievances, and hopes from ordinary citizens. Over 4,000 such boxes will be deployed in high-footfall areas statewide, such as markets, tea garden labour lines, bus stops, schools, and community halls.
Explaining the vision, Pradyut Bordoloi stated that the goal is to construct a political roadmap that genuinely mirrors the aspirations of every community in Assam. "This initiative is not just for an election, it is for the future. We want the voices of the people to be heard, understood, and reflected in a manifesto that truly represents them," he told the media.
Statewide Outreach and Key Issues
The campaign outlines a multi-pronged approach to engagement. Congress workers will fan out across Assam, collecting opinions not only through the aspirational boxes but also via informal interactions and direct meetings. The party has pledged to focus on a range of pressing issues identified in the public discourse.
The key concerns the campaign promises to address include:
- Fair wages and welfare for tea garden workers.
- Employment generation for the youth.
- Effective flood management solutions.
- Women's empowerment and safety.
- Improving public healthcare infrastructure.
Gaurav Gogoi emphasized that the party is channeling its organizational strength into this direct public connect. The campaign's groundwork began with health camps in tea gardens on November 30. A structured outreach is set to commence from December 6, where leaders will interact with communities across five designated zones: eastern Assam, central Assam, western Assam, the Barak Valley, and the hill districts. This will be followed by a comprehensive statewide yatra engaging farmers, labourers, contractors, and young people.
Political Context and Accusations
The launch also served as a platform for the Congress to sharpen its critique of the incumbent BJP government. Gogoi launched a direct attack, accusing the dispensation of "monarchical governance." "Now it’s the time of monarchy, the Dispur king does as he wishes. We want to be servants of the people, not the king," he declared.
The campaign rollout comes against a backdrop of several unresolved challenges in the state. The Congress leadership highlighted ongoing problems such as devastating floods, stalled women-centric schemes, high maternal mortality rates, child trafficking cases, poor access to rural healthcare, school dropouts, and increasing human-animal conflicts as key motivators for this public consultation drive.
AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh, who is in charge of the APCC, will oversee the coordination to ensure the campaign's successful implementation across Assam's diverse landscape.
