Congress-Raijor Dal Alliance in Assam Hangs Over Just One Seat

The seat-sharing negotiations between the Indian National Congress and the Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections appear to be on the verge of collapse — and the sticking point, according to Raijor Dal, is just one seat.

Raijor Dal working president Bhasco de Saikia told the media on Monday that while the party remained committed to forming an alliance to defeat the BJP, it had yet to receive a satisfactory proposal from the Congress.

"The Congress has offered four seats. The alliance can be sealed if just one more is given," Saikia said, without naming the constituency in question.

The two parties have been through several rounds of talks, with Raijor Dal steadily scaling back its demands to find common ground.

The party initially sought to contest 28 seats. After discussions, it reduced that to 22. When the Congress signalled it could not concede all 22, Raijor Dal trimmed its list further — submitting 18 constituencies and formally seeking 15.

At a key meeting on February 19, attended by senior Congress leaders including Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia, MPs Pradyut Bordoloi and Rakibul Hussain, and former APCC chief Ripun Borah, the Congress offered four seats for direct contests and proposed friendly contests in four others.

The Congress also suggested five additional constituencies not originally sought by Raijor Dal, while keeping two more open for further discussion.

Raijor Dal came away from that February 19 meeting dissatisfied.

"Constituencies where we have strong chances of victory were denied, and in some we were offered friendly contests. We concluded the meeting there," Saikia said.

He further alleged that the Congress had, at various points, indicated willingness to consider some of Raijor Dal's preferred seats — only to withdraw those assurances later.

Among the constituencies sought by Raijor Dal are Demow, Borsola, Naoboicha, Dispur, Dhemaji, and Duliajan — most of which were reportedly denied.

A subsequent meeting on February 24, attended by political activist Yogendra Yadav along with Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi, Shantanu Borthakur, and representatives of Assam Nagrik Sanmilan, appeared to reaffirm the shared goal of defeating the BJP.

Saikia said all participants at that meeting agreed that forging an alliance "at any cost" should be the priority.

Following those discussions, Raijor Dal conveyed to the Congress that it would accept a previously discussed 13-seat framework — provided the Congress granted even one constituency of its choice.

As of Monday, no breakthrough had been reached.

"Till now, there have been no further alliance talks. There is no definite positive development. We are still hopeful. We are doing this for the people of Assam," Saikia said, adding that the party had no plans to set a deadline.

He also raised a pointed question about the Congress consulting certain MLAs in recent days before extending its decisions — a move that appeared to add to Raijor Dal's frustration with the pace of the process.

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