Targeting bullseye in Assam elections, Congress turns flexible on Raijor Dal

Displaying a resolve to end the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decade-long stay in power in Assam, the state’s main Opposition, the Congress, has continued negotiations on sharing seats with allies for the upcoming elections, despite facing challenges from some small players. One of them is the Raijor Dal (People's Party) of activist-legislator Akhil Gogoi, which has driven a hard bargain with the Grand Old Party to formalise an electoral tie-up, both in terms of time and space.

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For the Congress, an upset Raijor Dal would not be ideal, for it could hit the party's prospects in at least a dozen seats in the Upper Assam region, from where Akhil hails, and also some in Lower Assam. But conceding more to the junior partner would also mean facing dissatisfaction at home.

The Congress, which has not hesitated to take on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s aggressive government machinery by the horns under the leadership of its state chief and MP Gaurav Gogoi, has decided to go slow and soft on the seat-sharing issue.

Congress handling Raijor Dal issue cautiously

Party insiders told The Federal that although an alliance has been finalised with the Raijor Dal, the leadership has not announced it as a strategic consideration. The Congress doesn’t want its own workers to lose morale ahead of the key elections, since some three to four seats in Upper Assam and one to two in the minority belt of Lower Assam have been given to Akhil’s outfit. And they also include, what the sources conceded, some “good, winnable” ones.

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The Congress also doesn’t want the BJP to get to know its game plan.

“Some good winnable seats are going to Akhil’s party. These are the seats where we (Congress) can also win,” the sources told this website.

But, is the party, which has dominated Assam politics over the decades, allowing more leeway to Raijor Dal, which has just one MLA in the state, and that is Akhil himself?

The Grand-Old Party has taken a more pragmatic stance on this, keeping in view the greater goal of unseating Sarma’s BJP. It has set its eyes on a significant number of seats in Upper Assam and a few in Lower Assam, and to clinch them, Raijor Dal can play an instrumental role.

“This is the reason we (Congress) are leaving three to four plum seats to Rajor Dal,” the sources said.

Grand-Old Party shows flexibility

According to Congress insiders, Akhil’s party had started with a demand for 40 seats under the alliance. After hectic parleys, the Congress managers succeeded in making the Raijor Dal revise its demand, first to 20-25 and later to 14, which it wants at the moment.

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The older party, however, wants to bargain further and convince the other side to bring it down to 11. But having said that, it doesn’t want to force a rigid deal. The sources also told The Federal that the Congress would be okay to leave 14 seats to the Raijor Dal if the latter is not at all ready to settle for 11.

Raijor Dal's panchayat poll results

But is it just the seats in Upper and Lower Assam that motivate Congress to show extra flexibility on Raijor Dal? A major factor that has made the Grand-Old Party interested in the party, which is just a few years old now, is its performance in the panchayat elections in 2025.

Though it won a moderate number of seats, yet the Raijor Dal finished fourth after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the more accomplished players in Assam politics.

Besides, the influence of Akhil, the MLA from Sibsagar, among the workers and farmers and his party’s secular and regional appeal are also points that the Congress seeks to capitalise upon in its battle against the BJP.

Congress needs allies after tie-ups with AIUDF, BPF end

For the Congress, finding robust alliances will be key for this election, particularly after it decided to end its long-standing alliance with the AIUDF. The Bodo Peoples Front (BPF) is another outfit that would not contest this election on the Congress’s side in the upcoming polls since it entered into an alliance with the BJP.

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Another alliance partner of the Congress in Assam is the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which, though, unlike the Rajor Dal, doesn’t offer a strong worker base and resources to contest the elections, but has pockets of influence in Upper Assam.

The AJP had initially demanded 20 seats and still wants at least a dozen seats under the alliance.

Sources told The Federal they could be convinced at five or a maximum of seven seats.

The party is headed by Lurinjyoti Gogoi, who, although is considered a good orator, his ability to translate it into political currency is yet to be seen.

Congress's Left allies

Unlike in other poll-bound states such as West Bengal and Kerala, the Congress will also be siding with the Left for the Assam polls, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI), and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation or CPI(ML)L. The party sources said that it will cede three seats to the Left as against their demand for five.

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Another ally, the Karbi Anglong-based All Party Hill Leaders Conference, would be convinced to contest from two seats, the source added.

Congress ropes in former state chief for seat-sharing talks

With Gaurav finding himself in charge of more responsibilities, both at the state and the Centre (he is the deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha), the Congress recently appointed a senior leader and former chief of the state unit, Bhupen Kumar Borah, to deal with the issues of seat-sharing.

The Federal made several attempts to reach him, but could not elicit any response.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Congress’s Assam candidate-screening committee, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, would be on a two-day visit to the poll-bound state starting February 18. She will meet the party’s state leaders and workers, besides potential candidates.