Akhil Gogoi Advocates for Opposition Coalition to Remove BJP in 2026 Assembly Elections
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Guwahati, Dec 3 (NationPress) Sivasagar MLA and Opposition leader Akhil Gogoi on Tuesday signaled a possible reunion with the Congress party in Assam aimed at displacing the BJP from power in the looming 2026 Assembly elections.
Prior to the formation of the Opposition INDIA bloc ahead of this year’s Lok Sabha elections, a coalition of 15 opposition parties, spearheaded by the Congress, created a United Opposition Forum in Assam to challenge the BJP.
This forum engaged in the Lok Sabha elections with an agreed-upon seat-sharing arrangement. However, shortly before the bye-elections in five Assembly constituencies, the Congress disrupted the alliance by nominating candidates for all the seats.
The main issue arose over the Behali seat, where a CPI-M leader was expected to stand for the United Opposition Forum.
Instead, the Congress backed a defected BJP candidate, Jayanta Bora, in Behali, leading to the breakdown of the alliance.
The CPI-M also presented a candidate, but the BJP emerged victorious, comfortably defeating the opposition candidates in the recent bypolls.
In a statement to reporters, Akhil Gogoi asserted, “To remove the BJP from power, all opposition parties, including the Congress, must unite. This is the sole strategy to overcome the ruling party in the forthcoming Assembly elections.”
The Sivasagar legislator cautioned that the Congress would perform poorly if they chose to contest the Assembly elections independently.
“In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Congress secured 26 seats, but if they go solo in the next polls, they might only win about 6 seats,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Assam Congress President Bhupen Borah remarked, “The Congress consistently prefers to contest elections with all regional entities together, but Akhil Gogoi should refrain from criticizing us. Such behavior is detrimental to an alliance.”
The Congress faced a complete loss in the bypolls, despite contesting all five available seats.
The party also lost its traditional stronghold in the Samaguri Assembly constituency, as Rakibul Hussain’s son, Tanzil Hussain, was defeated by the BJP’s Diplu Ranjan Sarmah.
Rakibul Hussain alleged extensive rigging by the BJP during the bye-elections in the Samaguri Assembly seat.
Hussain has been representing Samaguri since 2001 and vacated this seat upon winning in the Lok Sabha elections this year.
He stated, “Numerous polling booths in the Samaguri Assembly constituency experienced vote rigging. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma utilized administrative resources to secure my son's defeat in the bye-election.”
Five Assembly seats in Assam—Dholai, Behali, Samaguri, Bongaigaon, and Sidli—went to bye-elections as the legislators from these areas were elected to the Lok Sabha during this year's General Elections.
