BJP Lost This Assam Seat To Congress After A 25-Year Run. Now A Semiconductor Plant Is Strengthening Its Prospects — Ground Report From Nagaon

There’s an excited buzz in Jagiroad, a small industrial and trading town about 55 kilometres east of state capital Guwahati.

Excitement over the prospect of this town not only regaining its past glory, but surpassing it many times over. 

Seven years ago, Jagiroad received a huge shock when the closure of its economic mainstay — the Nagaon Paper Mill of the Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) — was announced all of a sudden. That closure devastated the town’s booming economy and reduced hundreds of families to penury. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam did its best to help the employees of the closed central public sector undertaking (PSU) in many ways, but that was not enough to douse widespread public anger over the sudden and unjustified closure of the paper mill. 

Jagiroad town lends its name to an assembly constituency which is one of the eight assembly segments under Nagaon Lok Sabha seat. 

That anger was one of the primary reasons behind the Congress wresting the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat from the BJP in 2019. The BJP had won this seat four successive times in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. 

But the announcement that a Rs 27,000 crore semiconductor manufacturing unit would come up at the site of the closed HPC paper plant has proven to be a gamechanger, and has drastically boosted the BJP’s prospects in Nagaon. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone (virtually) of the Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Private Limited (TSAT) at Jagiroad on 13 March. The unit is expected to manufacture 48 millions chips per day and is likely to start production from 2026. 

The TSAT plant at Jagiroad is expected to create over 27,000 direct and indirect job opportunities and will provide a tremendous boost to the economy of not only Jagiroad, but the whole region.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on the day of the foundation-stone laying ceremony that it was a “landmark day for Assam and the entire North East” while Ratan Tata posted on X that the new plant would put Assam on the global map. 

There is, understandably, euphoria in Jagiroad and all that anger over the closure of the HPC’s paper plant has dramatically dissipated. There is a complete U-turn in people’s attitude towards the BJP not only in the entire Jagiroad Assembly constituency, but the neighbouring ones as well. And that has translated into a surge of support for the BJP candidate, Suresh Borah.

Jagiroad today is a picture of hope and surging expectations. I chose to visit this dusty town that lies at the junction of National Highways 27 and 715A to see for myself how this proposed high-tech plant has become a political game-changer. 

I met Mriganka Pathak, a 35-year-old businessman. His deceased father, Dhananjay Pathak, was an employee of the paper mill. 

Vox Populi

“The sudden closure of the plant was a bolt from the blue for us. It left us shell-shocked and we didn’t know what to do. Everyone, from the employees of the plant to people of Nagaon, was extremely angry over the closure because it was completely unjustified,” said Mriganka, who runs a small business supplying building materials.

He says that the plant, with an installed capacity of 300 metric tonnes a day, was running at 90 per cent capacity even on the day it was closed. “The plant used to produce very high-quality paper. But a deep conspiracy, mismanagement and corruption ruined everything,” he said. 

At the time of its closure, the plant had about 900 employees on its payroll, down from the 2,400 employees it had when it started commercial production in 1985.

Ganesh Kumar Singh, 59, who was a fitter mechanic at the plant told Swarajya that Nagaon Paper Mill (as the plant was known as) was a highly profitable venture and was the only one in the country making paper entirely from bamboo. 

HPC had two other units in Nagaland and Cachar. Those units were unviable right from the beginning because of poor road and rail connectivity and high cost of transporting raw materials. 

The HPC shut down its Nagaland unit in 2014 and the Cachar plant in 2016. The HPC top management, inexplicably, milked the Nagaon unit dry to fund ‘golden handshakes’ to employees of the two closed units. 

“Many employees of those two units refused VRS (voluntary retirement scheme), and all the profits from the Nagaon unit were diverted to pay the salaries of the idle employees in Nagaland and Cachar. As a result, Nagaon Paper Mill quickly went into the red and had no money to pay its employees or procure raw materials,” said Singh.

Singh’s grandfather migrated to Assam during British rule and used to work for the railways. After retirement, he settled down in Jagiroad, which is an ancient trading town. His father also worked in the railways. 

“The village where we had lands was acquired by the government in 1979 for setting up the paper plant. We got compensation and the government promised one job for every family whose land had been acquired. I was provided a two-year training in an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and joined as a technician in 1986,” he said. 

The sudden announcement of Nagaon paper mill’s closure left him in the lurch, he said. “I got pension, but am yet to get my provident fund dues. I had some savings, otherwise we (my family and I) would have had to starve. Many former employees have died of heartbreak, a few committed suicide and some died because they couldn’t afford treatment,” he said. 

However, he adds, the Assam government helped them a lot. “Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held meetings with us and extended financial support. He gave scholarships ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and even more for children of ex-employees who were studying and with that help, they have completed their education. He has extended financial help to families in distress, for medical treatment, marriages and emergencies. All the families have been brought under the purview of various government welfare schemes,” said Singh.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika, who is the MLA from Jagiroad, has also been providing a lot of help to the ex-employees of the paper mill and their families.

However, it is not just the ex-employees of the paper mill who were hit hard by its closure.

Uttam Dutta Chowdhury, who owns a saree and garments store — Maa Sharada Saree Emporium — at the town's main market told Swarajya that the paper mill's closure crashed the economy of the town.

“My business, and all other businesses here, declined by 90 per cent. The worst affected were small businessmen who couldn't repay their plans and had to shut their shops and businesses. I barely manage to earn enough to run my family,” said Uttam, 42.

I met Biswajit Sarkar, 41, who used to run a fruit retail business. “My sales fell by at least two-thirds. I managed to somehow run my business for three years, but had to close it down because it was no longer viable,” he told Swarajya.

Sajal Dey, 44, a local journalist, says that the paper mill's closure spelt doom for many. 

“My elder brother Satya Dey was a casual employee at the plant. He lost his job and didn't get any pension because he was a casual employee. He now works at a restaurant run by my eldest brother at Nellie,” Sajal tells Swarajya. 

Sunil Karmakar, owner of a restaurant who also used to run a staff canteen at the paper plant, tells Swarajya that various businesses in Jagiroad used to cater to much more than the residents of the town and the paper mill's large staff colonies. 

“A large number of people used to visit Jagiroad everyday because of the paper mill. All that stopped. My business suffered a lot,” he said.

Awaiting A Bright Future

Sunil, Uttam, Biswajit, Mriganka and countless others like them in Nagaon are elated now.

“Now we have reached the end of the long, dark tunnel. Work on the construction of the semiconductor plant has started in full swing and we can now look forward to a boost in business by the end of next year,” said Mriganka.

Sunil says that since last month's foundation-stone laying ceremony, his restaurant has started recording an increase, albeit a small one, in footfalls.

“The number of people visiting Jagiroad has gone up considerably and will go up exponentially once the new semiconductor plant starts production,” he said. 

Uttam Dutta Chowdhury says that the semiconductor plant coming up in his town is a matter of pride. “It is a highly prestigious project and it will make Jagiroad famous. We couldn't imagine in our wildest dreams that such a high-tech project would come up here,” he said. 

Biswajit Sarkar tells me that he is planning to restart his business by the end of this month. “People have started coming to Jagiroad once again and the economy is picking up,” he said. 

Demolition of the earlier structures of the paper plant in the 550 acre site that was acquired by the Assam government from the HPC and then handed over to the Tatas is nearly complete and construction work on the new semiconductor plant will start early next month. 

TSAT has already recruited 1,500 young men and women from Assam, including a good number from Jagiroad, for training to run the plant. They are getting a stipend and are expected to form the core group of technical staff once the plant is commissioned. 

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who met Ratan Tata and top executives of the group in Mumbai on 20 March, posted on X that a skill development centre to train youths of Assam and North East in cutting edge semiconductor technology, artificial intelligence and electronics will be located within the premises of the semiconductor plant and will be run by TSAT. 

This announcement has also contributed a lot to the celebratory mood in Nagaon.

“In my time, we were trained for jobs as technicians and mechanics, now our children and grandchildren will get training in the latest technology and will get high-paying jobs. This is a miracle happening in Jagiroad,” said Ganesh Kumar Singh.  

The Political Fallout

After the recent delimitation, the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat became a Muslim-majority constituency. That would have, ideally, given the incumbent Congress MP, Pradyut Bordoloi, a significant edge. 

But the new semiconductor plant has robbed Bordoloi of his advantage. “Everyone, including Muslims, are excited because of the opportunities it will create in this region. Everyone knows that this plant is coming up at Jagiroad due to the efforts of our Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma,” said Suresh Borah, the BJP candidate. 

Minister Pijush Hazarika says that people of Nagaon realise that the economy of central Assam in particular, and the state as well as the region in general, will get an unprecedented boost after the semiconductor plant starts functioning. 

“That is why people will vote for our candidate in large numbers. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making India a semiconductor hub, and our Chief Minister has succeeded in getting the Tatas to invest in Assam. This is the biggest and most prestigious investment that the North East has ever received,” Hazarika told Swarajya. 

He contended that the Congress has always neglected Assam and the North East and never considered this region to be an investment destination. 

“The Modi government has changed this and the North East is being prioritised now. Our Chief Minister is working in close sync with the Union government to get investments and major projects to Assam. People can see this and that is why I am confident that our candidate will win,” he added. 

The Congress concedes that the semiconductor plant has changed the political dynamics in not just Nagaon, but some neighbouring Lok Sabha constituencies as well.

That is why it is trying to sow seeds of doubt about the new semiconductor plant. 

At their campaign rallies and meetings, Congress candidate Pradyut Bordoloi, and his party colleagues have been telling people that the semiconductor plant is a pipedream. 

“Let the plant come up first. The BJP is an expert in selling fake dreams and raising false hopes,” Bordoloi has been telling people. 

But his negative campaign has not found many takers. On the contrary, it has turned off many people. 

“People have seen for themselves that work has started at the site. Fifteen hundred young men and women have been recruited and they are undergoing training. One of India's foremost and highly respected industrialists (Ratan Tata) has committed himself to the project. To raise doubts about the project is foolish and will boomerang on the Congress,” said Hari Prasad Mallick, a local journalist whose family owns a business in Jagiroad. 

The upcoming TSAT plant at Jagiroad will churn out microchips that will be supplied to manufacturers of electric vehicles, smartphones, consumer electronics and spacecrafts. It will also fuel, and turn into reality, the mega dreams of the people of Jagiroad, Nagaon, Assam and the entire region. 

Besides, of course, giving the BJP an edge in the elections. 

This report is part of Swarajya's 50 Ground Stories Project - an attempt to throw light on themes and topics that are often overlooked or looked down. You can support this initiative by sponsoring as little as ₹2999. Click here for more details.