Road to Dispur gets rough: Oppn says BJP on back foot as voting nears

Guwahati, April 5: With only days left before the electorate of Assam heads to the polling booths on April 9, the junior partners of the Congress in the six-party Opposition alliance believe there is an undercurrent against the ruling BJP and the chances of a change of guards in Dispur are high in the Assembly elections.

Besides the Congress party, the other constituents of the coalition are the Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), CPI(M), and CPI(ML) Liberation.

In separate interactions with The Assam Tribune, senior leaders of the Congress’s alliance partners asserted that their campaign has gained substantial momentum in recent days. They also expressed confidence about a seamless transfer of votes among the constituents of the Opposition alliance.

The Congress party’s junior allies said that a common minimum programme (CMP) will be formulated once the elections are over.

As part of the seat-sharing arrangement, the Congress has left 11 seats to the Raijor Dal, 10 to AJP, two to the CPI(M), and one to the CPI(ML) Liberation.

In addition, the Raijor Dal and the Congress are having ‘friendly contests’ in two other constituencies.

“We believe there is going to be a change this time. Earlier, there was an impression that the BJP would sweep the polls. But now the situation has changed a lot. The chances of the Opposition alliance forming the government is growing stronger,” CPI(M) State secretary Suprakash Talukdar said.

He added the CPI(M) expects to win both seats where it is in the fray.

“We are confident of winning the Bhawanipur-Sorbhog LAC, where our incumbent MLA from the old Sorbhog seat, Manoranjan Talukdar, is contesting. As far as our other seat, Goreswar, is concerned, it is also a new constituency. The BJP’s declining fortunes overall has impacted their prospects in Goreswar also. So we are hopeful of a win from there as well,” Talukdar said.

He said the CPI(M) has a dedicated support base in various constituencies across Assam and the party is confident of transferring its votes to the alliance partners.

Raijor Dal general secretary Rasel Hussain admitted that formation of the alliance has improved the prospects of the Akhil Gogoi-led party.

“The response from the electorate has been positive. Our party’s position is strong in Sibsagar, Mariani, Dhing, Sissiborgaon, and Margherita LACs. In Dalgaon, there has been rebellion from some local Congress leaders after the seat was allocated to our party. But if Gaurav Gogoi intervenes, we expect the situation to improve. In Tezpur also, our position has consolidated in recent days,” he said.

Hussain, however, expressed reservation that none of the Congress party’s ‘star campaigners’ have visited the constituencies where the Raijor Dal is contesting.

“But we are not much concerned. The spirit of ‘regionalism’ is still very much prevalent in the State and that will benefit the Raijor Dal. Overall, the electorate is unhappy with the policies of the BJP-led NDA. The Opposition has gained an edge in Upper Assam and the BJP is also losing ground in Central Assam. We are confident about our coalition emerging triumphant in the Assembly elections,” he said.

Asked about the CMP, Hussain said, “We had stressed upon that time and again in the run up to the polls but it did not materialize. We are, however, confident that after the elections all the parties of our grouping will sit together and draft a CMP.”

AJP secretary Ziaur Rahman said the Lurinjyoti Gogoi-led party is highlighting issues like land rights for the indigenous communities, employment generation at the local level, and implementation of the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, among other subjects, in its campaign.

“The NDA won the 2021 Assembly elections due to fragmentation of the Opposition votes. That is not the case this time. Our vote is going to be intact. The alliance has made a lot of gains on the ground. We expect transfer of votes among the constituents of the bloc to be smooth and the Congress workers have extended help to our candidates,” he said.

Rahman said the AJP has the upper hand in at least six constituencies.

CPI(ML) Liberation State secretary Bibek Das said a CMP could not be formulated due to delay in the seat-sharing talks among the alliance partners.

“However, all parties of our bloc agree on several core issues. Once the elections are over, we expect to sit down together and draft a CMP,” he said.

Das claimed the BJP-led NDA is on the defensive.

“The people are participating in large numbers in the campaign programmes of the Opposition alliance. There is an undercurrent against the ruling NDA. We expect a ‘silent revolution’ on the polling day,” he said.

• In separate interactions with The Assam Tribune, senior leaders of the Congress’s alliance partners asserted that their campaign has gained substantial momentum in recent days. They also expressed confidence about a seamless transfer of votes among the constituents of the Opposition alliance
• As part of the seat-sharing arrangement, the Congress has left 11 seats to the Raijor Dal, 10 to AJP, two to the CPI(M), and one to the CPI(ML) Liberation
• As per opinions of many conscious people of Kaliabor constituency, the tea tribe leader Jitendra Gaur, who has a strong hold in the tea tribe area, apparently poses a hurdle to senior AGP leader Keshab Mahanta this time
• Sachin Pilot, campaigning for Congress candidate Rekibuddin Ahmed at Goroimari, called upon the voters of Assam not to vote favouring AIUDF and AGP, saying that AIUDF and AGP have fielded candidates in Chamaria Assembly constituency in a bid to divide the minority votes and defeat the Congress candidate
• For now, both Bolin Chetia and Jagadish Bhuyan appear evenly poised in what promises to be a closely-fought battle. As Sadiya prepares to vote, the constituency stands at a political crossroads, with the final verdict resting with its electorate on April 9
• For Dima Hasao, autonomy is not just a legal clause – it represents identity, self-governance, and long-standing aspirations of indigenous communities. That resonance has made the issue more powerful than routine development promises