As the ensuing Lok Sabha poll is nearing, the performance of the sitting MPs has made headlines.
According to records, Dibrugarh’s sitting BJP MP Rameshwar Teli, who is also the BJP candidate for Dibrugarh LS seat, has failed to utilise the money in his MP fund meant for development of the Dibrugarh parliamentary constituency.
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It has been learnt, in the past five years, Rs 25 crore was given to an MP for development of his or her parliamentary constituency but Rs 12.50 crore of teli’s MP fund was returned back due to non-utilisation.
“MP Rameshwar Teli could not use the fund and due to non-utilisation of the fund it returned back. He has not done anything for the development of Dibrugarh constituency,” a senior Congressmen of Dibrugarh alleged.
In 2014 Lok Sabha election, Rameshwar Teli defeated Congress veteran and former union DoNER minister Paban Singh Ghatowar by a margin of 1,85,347 votes.
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According to BJP party sources, the workers of BJP are unhappy with Rameshwar Teli because he is not spending money for daily expenses used in party offices. This time the excitements and exuberance are less among the party workers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rally at Moran on Saturday witnessed huge crowd.
PM Modi participated in an election campaign for Dibrugarh sitting MP Rameshwar Teli and Jorhat MP candidate Tapan Kumar Gogoi.
The tea community plays an important role during election in Dibrugarh because there are four lakh people from the tea community in the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency.
Earlier, Dibrugarh was regarded as the Congress bastion but in 2014, the BJP penetrated into the tea belt dislodging the Congress veteran Paban Singh Ghatowar.
“In 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had that if they come to power the daily wages of the garden workers would be hiked up to Rs 350 but till date the BJP has done little to hike the workers daily wage,” said Kamal Tanti, a labourer at Maijan tea estate.
Tanti said, “Former union minister Paban Singh Ghatowar became MP from Dibrugarh constituency for five times but he has done nothing for the tea community. Nobody thinks for us because even several years after independence, our community has remained backward.”
Eight candidates have filed their nomination from Dibrugarh seat but the fight will be limited between the BJP and the Congress.
Nima Rabi Das, a 51-year-old widow at Bokel tea estate said, “We will vote for development. We will vote for the party who work for us. Our forefathers also lived here before independence but development has not reached yet.”