Raijor Dal names Rahul Chhetry as Margherita candidate for 2026 Assembly polls
Party chief Akhil Gogoi also laid out a list of promises the party intends to implement if voted to power in 2026
Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi (left) with Rahul Chhetry. (AT Photo)
Margherita, July 14: With the 2026 Assam Assembly elections about nine months away, Raijor Dal has sounded its early poll bugle in Upper Assam by announcing its candidate for the Margherita seat.
At a joining ceremony held at Rang Manch in Margherita on Sunday, party chief Akhil Gogoi declared student leader Rahul Chhetry as Raijor Dal’s candidate from the No. 89 Margherita constituency.
Chhetry, the former general secretary of the party’s student wing, Chhatra Mukti Sangram Samiti, will contest on the party ticket.
Introducing Chhetry as an "educated youth", Gogoi told the crowd, “If the people of Margherita make him victorious, we both will shake the Assam Assembly. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is wary of me all the time—imagine what will happen if he joins forces with me.”
Gogoi also laid out a list of promises the party intends to implement if voted to power in 2026, including a crackdown on inflation, setting up of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and waiving of farm loans.
He slammed the BJP government at the Centre for failing to curb rising prices, saying, “It’s been 14 years since they promised to bring down prices. Have you seen any fall? Even salt and oil have become unaffordable.”
Interestingly, some of Gogoi’s proposals echoed commitments often made by Chief Minister Sarma.
“We will establish MSMEs across Assam. This will reduce the number of Assamese youth leaving the country to work as security guards,” he added.
With the Margherita announcement, Raijor Dal appears to have taken the first decisive step in the race to the 2026 Assembly polls, setting the tone for what could be a high-stakes contest in Upper Assam.