Spoke during a Congress Party press conference in Rajiv Bhawan, Guwahati, regarding increasing the State’s per capita income.

Guwahati, Jan. 06: The Congress Party has boldly challenged Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to raise the state’s per capita income, which is significantly lower than that of its neighbouring North Eastern States, including Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. At his Press conference on Sunday at Rajiv Bhawan, Bhupen Borah, the head of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), challenged Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to show his abilities on this issue.

“In terms of per capita income, Assam lags behind Arunachal, Mizoram, and Meghalaya among the Northeastern states.

I challenge the Chief Minister to make sure that Assam’s per capita income exceeds that of Arunachal, Meghalaya, and Mizoram if he is capable of doing so and the “double-engine” administration is in place,” Borah added.

Borah emphasized that it would be unreasonable to expect Assam to rank in the top 10 states in terms of per capita income before the 2026 elections since it would take too little time. Borah also criticized the state’s economic development, pointing out that Assam’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is by no means among the highest.

Assam would remain among the top five developed states in India, according to the Chief Minister’s earlier promises. Now, the question is, “When you look at the statistics of the top 10 states with the highest GSDP, you won’t find Assam there, but Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra dominate the list,” he said, adding that for 2023-24, Assam’s GSDP stands at Rs 6,43,089 crore. Without holding back, Borah criticized the Chief Minister’s leadership style, calling him a “credit monger” who only cared about promoting himself.

Although the Chief Minister claims that Assam is prospering, the truth is that the only people who stand to gain are him and his allies, as well as a small number of non-Assamese entrepreneurs and contractors. Drawing a comparison to the BJP-led Government’s 2004 “India is Shining” campaign, Borah concluded, “Just as the 2004 slogan was answered by the election of Congress’ Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, in 2026, the people of Assam will respond to the BJP’s leadership.” The APCC president also reminded the Chief Minister that his current tenure will end in 490 days, with a countdown set to begin once 400 days remain.