With Assam heading towards Assembly elections in April–May 2026, early signs of political churn are beginning to surface. A new element has entered the scene, with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) making a cautious but deliberate outreach to the state’s Adivasi and tea garden communities—an intervention that could influence the electoral balance in parts of Upper Assam.
The renewed focus follows Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren’s visit to Assam on February 1, where he addressed a gathering of around 30,000 people at the 21st Adivasi Mahasabha in Borgolai, Tinsukia district.
Organised by the All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA), the event took on a distinctly political tone, centred on unity, identity and long-pending rights.
Call for Adivasi unity
Addressing the crowd, Soren urged Adivasis to vote as a united political force, saying the community has the numbers to influence Assam’s political future.
“If Adivasis stand together, they can change the political equation of Assam,” he said, calling on the community to recognise its collective strength ahead of the elections.
He also promised that political empowerment could lead to welfare measures in Assam similar to those introduced in Jharkhand, including financial support and social security schemes for Adivasi families.
Stressing the role of the state, Soren said any responsible government must safeguard the rights of indigenous communities over land, forests and water.
Focus on tea garden workers’ wages
Referring to the condition of tea garden workers, Soren spoke of what he described as long-standing injustice.
“The global tea industry runs on Adivasi labour, but this community remains among the most exploited,” he said, noting that while tea workers in some states earn between ₹400 and ₹500 a day, wages in Assam remain around ₹250.
The Mahasabha also featured speeches by Jharkhand Tribal Affairs Minister Chamra Linda, JMM MP Vijay Kumar Hansdak, and AASAA president Rejan Hor and general secretary Deben Orang.
All speakers highlighted the need for greater unity among Adivasis and stronger movements for fair wages, dignity and constitutional rights.
Quiet political groundwork
JMM’s outreach, however, began before the rally. In mid-January, a party delegation led by Chamra Linda, along with MP Vijay Hansda and legislators MT Raja and Bhushan Tirkey, toured Assam.
Instead of public meetings, the team held closed-door discussions with Adivasi leaders across party lines, including those linked to the Congress, the BJP and the newly formed Jai Bharat Party.
Sources said the discussions focused on long-standing grievances such as stagnant tea garden wages, lack of land rights, poor access to healthcare and education, and the unresolved demand for full Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
“We are tribals, not ‘tea tribes’,” participants reportedly told the delegation, reflecting decades of frustration over identity and exclusion.
Electoral calculations in key seats
Party insiders say JMM is assessing around 35 to 40 Assembly constituencies where Adivasis and tea garden workers form a decisive voting bloc—an important number in a 126-member Assembly.
Assam’s Adivasi population, descendants of workers brought by the British from present-day Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, is estimated at nearly 70 lakh, or about 20 per cent of the state’s population.
However, the 2011 Census shows that only 3.88 million are recognised as Scheduled Tribes, leaving a large section without constitutional protections.
Adding to the momentum, Soren is also scheduled to address a National Adivasi Meet organised by AASAA in Borgolai, Margherita. Organisers are expecting a turnout of nearly five lakh people, which could make it one of the largest Adivasi mobilisations in recent years.
Mixed reactions from political parties
Views remain divided on how far JMM can influence Assam’s politics. Former AASAA president Stephen Lakra believes alliances will be crucial.
“If JMM ties up with the Congress, it may have an impact. If it contests on its own, the effect could be limited,” he said.
The BJP, meanwhile, has downplayed JMM’s presence. State BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami said the party lacks organisational strength in Assam.
“It is essentially a Jharkhand-based party with no electoral track record here,” he said, adding that BJP-led welfare schemes have strengthened its base among tea garden communities over the past decade.
On the ground, the situation appears more complex. More than 94 per cent of Assam’s tribal population lives in rural areas, where tea estates continue to be marked by low wages, insecure jobs and weak public services.
Among younger voters, this has led to growing political disillusionment and a search for alternatives.
Part of a wider national strategy
JMM’s Assam push also aligns with its broader national strategy after being excluded from seat-sharing arrangements in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
As part of the INDIA bloc alongside the Congress, the party has signalled plans to expand beyond Jharkhand, with a focus on states like Assam and West Bengal.
Political observers in Guwahati remain cautious. Some see JMM as a potential ally for the Congress to consolidate Adivasi votes, while others worry it could split the opposition space, indirectly helping Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s BJP, which swept the 2021 elections and is aiming for a stronger mandate in 2026.
JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya described the Assam visit as an “on-ground assessment,” saying any electoral decision will be taken only after senior leaders review the findings.
Even so, the outreach has unsettled existing political equations. What is clear is that Adivasi politics in Assam is no longer on the sidelines. As the 2026 elections draw closer, the aspirations of a long-marginalised community are moving to the centre of the state’s political debate—and could prove decisive.