New delhi : Senior Pawan Khera said last-minute initiatives by the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam, including financial assistance to women, will not help the party retain power in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, the chairman of the media and communications department of the Indian National Congress alleged that the government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma works mainly in the interests of its ministers.

Responding to BJP allegations regarding the alleged Pakistan links of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, Khera claimed that Sarma had met a cleric in Dhaka before joining the BJP in 2015.

“I challenge him to deny it. He joined the BJP on the advice of that cleric,” Khera said. There was no immediate response from the chief minister or the BJP to the allegation.

Khera said Sarma had left the Congress to join the BJP in 2015 and later played a key role in the party’s first victory in the Assam Assembly elections in 2016. However, he expressed confidence that the Congress and its allies would form the next government in the state under the leadership of Gogoi.

Drawing an analogy, the Congress leader said some students do not study throughout the year and start preparing only days before examinations, claiming the BJP government in Assam was acting in a similar manner ahead of elections.

“With elections approaching, the government has started distributing ?9,000 among women, flyovers are being hurriedly constructed and inaugurated, and it has suddenly remembered the issue of proper wages for tea garden workers,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Assam government transferred ?9,000 each to around 40 lakh women beneficiaries under the Orunodoi Scheme. On the same day, Sarma inaugurated the 4.2-km-long Maharaja Prithu Flyover in Guwahati and announced an increase of ?30 in the daily wages of tea garden workers from next month.

Khera claimed that just as students who study only at the last moment often fail, similar last-minute measures would not help the BJP return to power. He also alleged that women in the state had decided not to tolerate what he described as a corrupt administration.

The Assam Assembly elections are expected to be held in April.

The Congress leader further alleged that the BJP government prioritises the interests of ministers and their families. “No one can save Himanta Biswa Sarma after the elections, not even his masters in Delhi. After the results are declared, he will be behind bars within weeks,” he claimed.

Khera also criticised what he called the BJP’s “Gujarat model”, alleging that it benefited only a select few, and said the Congress under Gogoi would introduce a “new Assam model” aimed at benefiting every citizen.

He further accused the state government of circulating an alleged AI-generated image of modern roads on social media and presenting it as evidence of improved infrastructure in Assam.

Khera also alleged that the government had repeatedly resorted to misinformation and claimed it had failed to deliver justice in a case related to noted singer Zubeen Garg.

Criticising the government for spending public money on publicity, he claimed he saw more than a thousand banners featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sarma along the road from the airport.

According to Khera, the BJP government spends nearly ?100 crore annually on publicity campaigns, amounting to about ?500 crore over five years.

Explaining why people should vote for the Congress, he used the analogy of a flashy new shop versus an old reliable one.

“People may initially be attracted to a dazzling new shop, but after being deceived a few times, they return to the old shop that offers honest service. Congress is that reliable old shop,” he said.