Raijor Dal seeks immediate talks with Congress, rejects ‘pause’ in alliance discussion

Guwahati, March 11: Rejecting the idea of a “pause” in discussions as suggested by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi in a social media post, The Raijor Dal called for immediate talks with the Congress to finalise an opposition alliance on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Raijor Dal executive president Bhasko D. Saikia said the party wants a final seal on the alliance instead of delaying the process.

Referring to Gogoi’s social media statement, Saikia said the development came as a surprise to the party leadership.

Saikia alleged that although the Congress had not officially declared a break in the alliance, the party had informally broken it four times during the course of discussions.

“After Gaurav Gogoi’s social media post, we can say that though not officially, the Congress party has unofficially broken the alliance with the Raijor Dal four times,” Saikia said.

According to him, the first instance occurred while seat-sharing discussions between the two parties were still underway.

“We had sought the Barchala, Dimow, Dispur and Margherita constituencies. However, while the talks were still ongoing, they went ahead and announced candidates in all four constituencies,” he said.

Saikia further alleged that the alliance was effectively broken a second time when Congress announced an opposition alliance through a press conference without inviting the Raijor Dal.

“Even after that, they held a press conference with other parties but did not invite the Raijor Dal. In this way, they broke the alliance with us for the second time,” he said.

The Raijor Dal leader said the third instance occurred in the Ranganadi constituency, where the party had already been assured it would field a candidate.

“For the third time, they broke the alliance by announcing a candidate in Ranganadi. It had already been finalised that the Raijor Dal would contest from Ranganadi, but Congress did not even inform us before projecting a candidate. What kind of alliance is this?” Saikia asked.

He claimed the fourth instance came following Gogoi’s social media post on Wednesday, which stated that Congress was taking a temporary pause in alliance talks with the Raijor Dal.

“We were waiting with hope that the alliance would be finalised by this morning as discussions were still ongoing. We had expected positive news, but Gaurav Gogoi wrote the opposite in his Facebook post,” Saikia said.

The Raijor Dal also detailed the progress made in seat-sharing negotiations, stating that the party had gradually reduced its demand from 27 seats to 20 and later to 15 seats in the interest of forming a broader opposition alliance.

“Congress had said it would give 13 seats. Out of those, only four seats were to be left solely for the Raijor Dal, while four others were proposed for friendly contests,” Saikia said.

He added that the party had conveyed that even if it was given just one more seat for direct contest, it would still remain in the opposition alliance.

“But even after this, Congress announced the break in the alliance through a social media post,” he said.

According to the Raijor Dal, discussions held with senior Congress leaders, including Debabrata Saikia, Ripun Bora, Pradyut Bordoloi and Rakibul Hussain, had earlier indicated that the Ranganadi seat would be left for the Raijor Dal.

However, the party alleged that the situation changed after Congress decided to field Jayanta Khaound, who had joined from the Asom Gana Parishad.

Despite the disagreements, the Raijor Dal maintained that it remains open to continuing discussions.

“The Raijor Dal does not want a pause but immediate talks and a final seal on the alliance. This is our appeal,” Saikia said.