Congress-led Opposition alliance hits turbulence ahead of Assam panchayat polls

Congress-led Opposition alliance in Assam faces turmoil ahead of panchayat polls due to internal differences.

The Congress-led Opposition alliance in Assam has hit turbulence ahead of the two-phase panchayat polls in May.

The alliance formed before the 2021 Assembly polls showed signs of fragility during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The differences became public after MLA Akhil Gogoi, the president of Raijor Dal, accused some Congress leaders of conspiring to let the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sweep the rural polls, specifically in eastern Assam’s Sivasagar district.

Mr. Akhil Gogoi represents the Sivasagar Assembly constituency, and Raijor Dal is one of the 16 constituents of the United Opposition Forum, Assam. The Left Front parties are among the constituents.

“Congress crossed the limits of betrayal by fielding candidates for all six zilla parishads in Sivasagar instead of helping us in the true spirit of alliance. We have been insisting that contesting separately and not as a unit would be suicidal when the ruling parties (BJP and its allies) have better coordination,” he told journalists.

He also accused Congress’s Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi and Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia, who represents the Nazira Assembly constituency, of planning to let the BJP sweep the panchayat polls because of a leadership tussle within the grand old party.

Sivasagar and Nazira are constituents of the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat.

“The Congress leadership have told me that the MP wants to sabotage the alliance because State Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah stands to gain if we do well,” the Raijor Dal president said, threatening to field a candidate for the Nazira seat in the 2026 State polls.