Assam polls: Congress, Raijor Dal seal seat-sharing deal

After weeks of disagreement, Congress and the regional Raijor Dal sealed their seat-sharing deal on Thursday (March 19, 2026) night.

The Congress-led opposition bloc now has six political parties. The others are the Assam Jatiya Parishad, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), and the All-Party Hill Leaders’ Conference.

“We have come together to fight the extreme disorder and corruption in Assam under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,” Akhil Gogoi, Sivasagar MLA and the president of Raijor Dal, said after signing the agreement with State Congress president Gaurav Gogoi.

He added that his party decided to work to make Gaurav Gogoi the Chief Minister of Assam.

“I apologise to those who could not be given tickets, but we must fight together for the sake of Assam and to free the State from the BJP’s divisive politics. Civil society and neutral citizens must also come forward,” the State Congress president said.

According to the seat-sharing arrangement, Raijor Dal will contest 13 seats, including its president’s. The two parties will have a “friendly contest” in two of these constituencies.

Congress has so far released the names of 87 candidates, but it effectively has 86 in the fray. Prateek Bordoloi withdrew his candidature from the Margherita seat after his father, Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi, quit Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The other four constituents of the opposition bloc are contesting 15 seats.

There is no clarity about the remaining seats. Elections to Assam’s 126 Assembly seats will be held in a single phase on April 9.