No alliance with ‘communal’ AIUDF for 2026 Assam Assembly polls: Gaurav Gogoi

Guwahati, Dec 17: Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi has ruled out any alliance with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, calling the party “communal” and drawing a direct comparison with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“There will be no alliance with the AIUDF under any circumstances. It is also a communal party like the ruling BJP. We cannot join hands with one communal force to defeat another similar force,” Gogoi told the press, on Tuesday evening.

His remarks come days after the Congress and eight other Opposition parties announced that they would contest the 2026 polls together under the banner of the Asom Sonmilito Morcha to challenge the BJP. The AIUDF, however, is not part of the grouping.

The Congress and AIUDF had fought the 2021 Assembly elections as allies but parted ways after Bhupen Kumar Borah took charge as the Congress’ Assam unit president.

Asked whether the Morcha had begun working on a seat-sharing formula, Gogoi said such discussions were not held in public.

“These matters are taken forward through off-camera discussions. Only after discussions are concluded can anything be said officially. The upcoming elections will not be easy for the BJP,” he added.

The Assam Assembly elections to 126 constituencies are expected to be held in March–April next year.

At present, the BJP has 64 MLAs in the House, while its allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), have nine, seven and three members, respectively.

In the Opposition camp, the Congress has 26 legislators, AIUDF 15, the CPI(M) one, and there is one Independent MLA.

Gogoi claimed the BJP was facing growing discontent within its own ranks. “The top leadership knows that under the present leadership, the party’s prospects are not very good. Ministers and a few close associates have benefited, but party workers have gained nothing,” he alleged.

He further claimed that basic infrastructure remained neglected in areas where BJP workers lived, citing incomplete roads, lack of drinking water and poor conditions of government schools.

The Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha also alleged that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was running the party to suit his own interests along with a small group of associates.

Responding to allegations that the Congress was “pro-Miya”, Gogoi dismissed the charge as baseless.

He said people who “love Assam and cherish its land, air and water” had been joining the party since April last year.

“A look at those who have joined the Congress clearly exposes such allegations as ridiculous,” he said.

The term ‘Miya’, originally used pejoratively for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, has in recent years been reclaimed by sections of the community as a form of defiance.

PTI