Raijor Dal Alleges Congress Broke Alliance Talks Four Times, Demands Urgent Resumption

Raijor Dal has alleged that the Indian National Congress has effectively broken its alliance negotiations with the party four times in an informal manner, even though no official announcement of a split has been made, and called for urgent talks to finalise a seat-sharing arrangement ahead of the Assam Assembly elections.

Speaking to the media, Raijor Dal leader Bhasko D Saikia said that Congress's actions during the ongoing negotiations have repeatedly undermined the alliance process, despite the absence of a formal breakdown statement from either side.

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Saikia laid out a specific sequence of events to support the allegation. He said that while seat-sharing talks were still underway, Congress announced candidates in four constituencies — Barholla, Dimow, Dispur, and Margherita — without waiting for negotiations to conclude.

He also alleged that Congress formally announced its opposition alliance through a press conference without including Raijor Dal, despite active discussions being in progress at the time.

A particularly contentious point was the Ranganadi constituency. Saikia said it had been agreed during negotiations that Raijor Dal would contest from that seat. However, before talks concluded, Congress inducted Jayanta Khaund and projected him as its candidate from Ranganadi — informing Raijor Dal only after the announcement had already been made.

Saikia said alliance discussions had continued until midnight on March 10, with the party expecting a positive conclusion the following morning. Instead, APCC President Gaurav Gogoi announced via Facebook that Congress was taking a "pause" from alliance talks with Raijor Dal and would reconsider the matter later.

"The Raijor Dal does not want a pause. Such a pause is not acceptable at the current political moment, and we call for urgent discussions to finalise the alliance," Saikia said.

He added that after Congress announced a broader opposition alliance without including Raijor Dal, the door to partnership had effectively been closed — though Raijor Dal subsequently took the initiative to restart discussions in the interest of broader opposition unity.