The “tea tribes” votes are believed to have swung en masse from Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which eyes a third straight term in Assam. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The Assam Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) approved a proposal to reserve 3% of the Class I and Class II government jobs for the “tea tribes” and Adivasi community.
The approval, in addition to a similar decision for the community in Class III and Class IV government jobs, is significant ahead of the elections to the 126-member Assembly expected by April. The “tea tribes”, a term used to mean Adivasis who were brought by the British planters from central India, and “ex-tea tribes” (those who are no longer associated with tea plantations) account for almost 20% of the voters in Assam.
Catching votes
The “tea tribes” votes are believed to have swung en masse from Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which eyes a third straight term in Assam.
In another seemingly poll-oriented decision, the Cabinet also approved the release of the Entrepreneurship Fund or seed capital to an additional 1,07,532 eligible women self-help group members under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyaan.
The other decisions included the approval for the construction of a second Sainik School (after the one in western Assam’s Goalpara) at Langvoku in Karbi Anglong district. The Ministry of Defence had earlier approved the detailed project report for the establishment of this school.
Focus on welfare schemes
The Cabinet also approved the presentation of the vote-on-account Budget for the initial months of financial year 2026-27.
Presenting the ₹62,294.78-crore interim Budget ahead of the Assembly polls, Finance Minister Ajanta Neog said the major flagship schemes entailing direct cash benefits will continue in the years to come.
Citing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, she said Assam was the fastest-growing State in India and that the government would stand by the children of economically weak families on the growth path. The scope of cash schemes, including Nijut Moina (for girls), Nijut Babu (for boys) and Orunodoi (poverty alleviation), has thus been expanded, she said.
Ms. Neog said the Orunodoi scheme has been expanded to 40 lakh families from 19 lakh when it was launched in 2021. “We have included the differently abled, transgender persons, and other vulnerable groups to make it the largest social assistance programme in Assam,” she said.
She also said Assam was poised to become a ₹10 lakh crore economy by 2028, two years ahead of the targeted year. “At constant prices, the State’s Gross State Domestic Product expanded by 45% between financial years 2019-20 and 2024-25, significantly outperforming the national growth average of 29%,” she said.
Ms. Neog further said that Assam’s per capita income has more than doubled in five years from ₹86,947 in 2020-21 to ₹1,85,429 in 2025-26, representing a jump of 113%.
Published – February 17, 2026 09:56 pm IST
