GUWAHATI, the capital city of Assam, witnessed a huge rally of workers and peasants on February 26. The rally was organised jointly by the Assam state committees of CITU and AIKS against the anti-worker and anti-peasant policies and the politics of communal divide pursued by the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the state. In Assam, soon after coming to power, the BJP government unleashed a massive eviction drive of the peasantry and other sections of the working people from ‘khas’, railway, VGR/PGR land.

THE 2016 Assembly election ousted the Congress from power in Assam. The Tarun Gogoi-led dispensation was in power for three successive terms since 2001. Bringing an end to the 15-year Congress rule, the BJP, with the help of alliance partners AGP and BPF, came to power with comfortable majority. In the 126-member Assembly, the BJP and its allies have won 86 seats, while the Congress managed to win only 26 seats. A majority of political observers and analysts predicted a hung Assembly.

TRIPURA Chief Minister and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Manik Sarkar addressed five huge rallies in Lower Assam on April 3 and 4 in support of party candidates from Bijni, Abhayapuri North, Sorbhog, Nalbari and Rangia Assembly constituencies. While top leaders of bourgeoisie parties such as BJP and Congress were travelling to places in helicopters to address rallies, Sarkar, despite being a Chief Minister, went for election campaign by travelling in trains which found some space in otherwise anti-Left electronic media.

GUWAHATI, the capital city of poll-bound Assam, witnessed a massive and inspiring rally on February 21 on the call of CPI(M) Assam State Committee. The sprawling and picturesque bank of the mighty Brahmaputra River, where the rally was held, turned red and was crowded by about fifteen thousand people who came from different corners of the state. It was an inspiring spectacle of the fighting unity of the toiling and democratic people irrespective of language, religion and caste in a state which is otherwise plagued by activities of divisive and communal forces.

THE 16th biennial conference of Natun Sahitya Parishad, a progressive literary organisation of Assam, was held from January 8 to 10 at Manikpur in Bongaigaon district. The conference upheld the view of democratic consciousness and human values with the main slogan of confronting neo-liberal economic policies and the sinister design of casteism and communalism by literary activities.