BJP, Congress MLAs to join Raijor Dal: Akhil Gogoi

Guwahati, Dec 4 (IANS) Sivasagar MLA and chief of a regional party - Raijor Dal in Assam, Akhil Gogoi, on Tuesday claimed that at least two BJP MLAs will join his party.

The opposition leader further said that a few Congress and All India United Democratic (AIUDF) leaders have also lined up to join the Raijor Dal.

“Two MLAs of the BJP have been in touch with us to switch sides and they will join the Raijor Dal. Moreover, some of the legislators from other parties like Congress and AIUDF will also join our party. However, they will only join before six months of Assembly polls in Assam to avoid any by-elections,” Gogoi told media persons.

The next Assembly election in Assam is stated in April 2026.

The Sivasagar legislator also said that an alliance with Congress can be formed only on the condition that the seat-sharing pact must be sealed much before the polls.

“Congress must decide on how many seats they want to fight the polls. They keep these things pending till the election dates are announced and at the last moment they give their candidates in most of the seats,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Akhil Gogoi said, “To oust the BJP from power, all opposition parties including Congress must fight unitedly. This is the only way to defeat the ruling party in the next assembly polls.”

The Sivasagar legislator also warned that the Congress party would put up a poor show if they decided to contest the Assembly polls alone.

“In the 2021 Assembly election, Congress got 26 seats but if they contest polls alone, they will hardly win 6 seats in the next polls,” he said.

Meanwhile, Assam Congress president Bhupen Bora said, “Congress always favoured fighting polls taking all regional forces together but Akhil Gogoi must stop criticising us. This is not a healthy sign for an alliance.”

Congress drew a blank in the bypolls despite contesting all five seats in the by-elections. The opposition party lost its bastion in the Samaguri Assembly constituency as Congress heavyweight and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain’s son Tanzil Hussain conceded defeat to BJP’s Diplu Ranjan Sarmah.