Assam Political Alliance Faces Major Seat-Sharing Crisis
The much-anticipated electoral alliance between the Congress party and the Raijor Dal (RD) in Assam has encountered substantial obstacles, primarily centered around contentious seat-sharing negotiations. The proposed coalition, aimed at consolidating opposition forces against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), now appears to be on shaky ground as both parties exchange accusations and demands.
Disputed Seat Allocation Proposals
Raijor Dal working president Bhasco De Saikia revealed that his party had initially submitted a list of 18 constituencies where they sought to contest, with a request for 15 seats in the alliance arrangement. However, Congress responded by agreeing to relinquish only four seats for direct contests while proposing an additional four constituencies for what they termed "friendly contests."
"Congress wants us to contest in another five seats which were not in the list of the 18 seats," Saikia stated. "Thus, Congress wanted Raijor Dal to contest in total 13 seats, including those five seats where we had no plan to contest."
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, Congress was prepared to allocate Marioni, Sivasagar, Sissibargaon and Digboi constituencies to Raijor Dal for direct contests. Meanwhile, they suggested "friendly contests" in Margherita, Dhing, Mandia and Goalpara East constituencies.
Internal Tensions and Political Maneuvering
The situation became more complicated with the involvement of two former Congress MLAs—Sherman Ali Ahmed and Abdur Rashid Mandal—who recently joined Raijor Dal and were being prepared to contest from Mandia and Goalpara East respectively. Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi expressed significant displeasure over these developments, particularly because Sherman Ali Ahmed had been openly critical of the Congress party since his suspension.
"There was unhappiness over Sherman and Mandal being projected as alliance candidates despite Congress being the major constituent," Gogoi remarked, highlighting the internal friction within the opposition camp.
Raijor Dal sources suggested that Congress might be applying strategic pressure by insisting on friendly contests in those specific constituencies where the former Congress members were positioned to run.
Broader Alliance Dynamics
As the Congress-Raijor Dal negotiations stalled, sources indicated that Congress was simultaneously advancing toward finalizing coalition arrangements with other regional parties, including the Assam Jatiya Parishad, the All Party Hill Leaders' Conference, and various Left parties. This parallel negotiation strategy suggests Congress is preparing multiple alliance possibilities should the Raijor Dal partnership collapse.
The current impasse follows earlier tensions that emerged when Gaurav Gogoi announced Congress would contest 100 of Assam's 126 assembly seats. Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi criticized this stance as unreasonable, noting that Congress had suffered consecutive defeats in both the 2016 and 2021 assembly elections.
Despite the disagreements, Bhasco De Saikia indicated that Raijor Dal, which remains focused on defeating the BJP, was initially close to accepting Congress's terms but sought one additional preferred seat within the proposed 13-seat arrangement. "Since February 26, several days went by, but we did not get any positive response from Congress," Saikia lamented, highlighting the communication breakdown between the two parties.
The political landscape in Assam remains fluid as opposition parties navigate complex negotiations ahead of crucial elections, with the Congress-Raijor Dal alliance representing just one of several potential configurations that could challenge the incumbent BJP government.
