Congress ally in Assam demands ‘seats of its choice’ for Assembly polls

A Congress ally in Assam, the Raijor Dal, has advised the Congress leadership to resolve the dispute over seat-sharing for the upcoming Assembly elections, opening a rift within the opposition alliance in Assam.

Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, who heads Raijor Dal, said on Friday (February 20, 2026) that he would write to the Congress leadership “for the last time” to resolve the differences.

Mr. Gogoi said Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra want the seat-sharing formula to be acceptable to all the allies. He urged the State party leadership to align with their outlook to save the alliance.

Hoping for a positive response, he said that the lack of clarity and consistency from the Congress leadership was frustrating. He claimed that issues the allies had agreed upon during a recent meeting of the Congress-constituted screening committee were going nowhere.

Mr. Gogoi said the Raijor Dal had demanded 15 seats in the proposed alliance arrangement, but the Congress was adamant about contesting 100 seats. Assam has a total of 126 Assembly constituencies.

Unfair terms

“How can an alliance function if everything goes according to the Congress, which wants 100 seats?” he asked, adding that his party has so far received four constituencies of its choice.

He said the Raijor Dal has sought five seats — three of which are independent — in minority-dominated areas, but the Congress was offering the party only one. “Treating such seats as the exclusive domain of the Congress is unfair,” he added.