Guwahati: The opposition’s carefully nurtured dream of presenting a united front against the ruling alliance in the 2026 Assam Assembly elections has effectively been stillborn. For nearly five years, opposition parties had been incubating the hope of a grand alliance. But that hope has not hatched into a living political force — it has simply gone to waste (Congress–Raijor Dal Alliance Collapses).
The immediate casualty is the proposed alliance between the Indian National Congress and the Raijor Dal — the two most prominent opposition formations in the state.
The Road to Breakdown
The groundwork for opposition unity had been laid with considerable effort. A platform of eminent citizens, led by distinguished litterateur Hiren Gohain, had long championed the cause of a unified opposition. Their advocacy gave political momentum to inter-party discussions, and for a time, the prospect of a broad-based alliance appeared genuinely possible.
However, disagreements over seat-sharing eventually eroded that goodwill. The flashpoint was the Dhing Assembly constituency, over which Congress and Raijor Dal found themselves at an impasse. The atmosphere grew uncertain — the alliance appeared to be on, then off, then uncertain again — until Wednesday, when Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi effectively announced its suspension through a social media post.
Gaurav Gogoi’s Statement
Gogoi wrote: “As desired by the people of Assam, we had sought to contest the upcoming Assembly elections as a united opposition in alliance with Raijor Dal. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to create the favourable and promising environment for such an alliance that the people of Assam deserve.”
He added: “The primary objective of any electoral alliance is to give due weight to the realistic probability of winning seats. With that firmly in mind, we approached negotiations with a broad outlook and pursued seat adjustments in good faith. However, for various reasons, we have been unable to build this alliance in the manner people expected. We are therefore taking a pause from alliance discussions with Raijor Dal for the time being. We may revisit the matter in the future.”
Akhil Gogoi Hits Back
Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi responded with undisguised anger.
“Are we supposed to accept seats simply so that we can lose them? Is this Gaurav Gogoi’s idea of an alliance — that partner parties must lose while Congress alone wins?”
He sharpened his critique with a pointed analogy: “If Gaurav Gogoi imagines himself to be America and thinks of me as Iran, he is gravely mistaken. We are a self-respecting regional nationalist party. He needs to learn how to speak to a party of that standing. He must stop addressing us like a king issuing commands and start speaking like a genuine friend and equal. Whatever high-handedness he practises within his own party is his business — but we will not tolerate that attitude directed at us.”
Akhil Gogoi went further, alleging that Congress had acted in bad faith throughout the negotiations. He claimed that while talks were still formally underway, Congress unilaterally announced candidates for 42 constituencies — including five seats that Raijor Dal had specifically sought during negotiations: Margherita, Dhemaji, Dimow, Barchala, and Dispur.
“The alliance had already broken at the moment they announced candidates for seats that were still under active discussion. Now, faced with public questioning, Gaurav Gogoi is staging a fresh drama to win sympathy. If talks were genuinely continuing, he owes people an explanation for why the alliance collapsed.”
He concluded with a blunt verdict: “Congress has betrayed us. An alliance between a king and his subjects is impossible. Until this arrogance is shed, no alliance can be contemplated.”
The Jayanta Khaund Factor
Raijor Dal elaborated on the breakdown at a press conference held Wednesday, addressed by executive president Bhasko De Saikia in the presence of party secretaries Russel Hussain and Azizur Rahman.
Saikia alleged that the proximate cause of the collapse was Congress’s decision to field Jayanta Khaund — who recently defected from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) to Congress — as its candidate in the Ranganadi constituency, a seat Raijor Dal had been seeking.
“Congress broke the alliance specifically to accommodate Jayanta Khaund. After every positive signal had been exchanged, they abruptly decided to field their own candidate in Ranganadi, shutting Raijor Dal out entirely.”
Saikia claimed that while senior leaders including Ripun Bora, Debabrata Saikia, and Pradyut Bordoloi had been supportive of the alliance, it was ultimately Mira Borthakur and Gaurav Gogoi who engineered its collapse.
He was also emphatic that Raijor Dal had never sought a pause. “We did not ask for any pause. We want alliance discussions to resume immediately and move forward with urgency. We want every party committed to change to come together and honour the hopes and aspirations of the people.”
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