Dibrugarh: Alliance negotiations between the Congress and the Raijor Dal hit a significant roadblock on Thursday, as a five-hour closed-door meeting between Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi ended without a breakthrough, casting fresh uncertainty over their pre-poll pact ahead of the Assam Assembly elections.
The two leaders met at the Tea County Hotel in Dibrugarh from 11 am onward. However, despite the lengthy discussions, Akhil Gogoi appeared visibly disappointed while addressing the media, providing a blunt account of the deliberations.
“Today’s meeting remained inconclusive. The Congress had floated news through media houses that they would offer 13 seats to Raijor Dal. But we were surprised to learn during the meeting that even these 13 seats have not been approved by the Congress high command in Delhi. The list was prepared by Gaurav Gogoi himself,” Akhil Gogoi said.
The Sivasagar MLA also revealed that differences had emerged over specific constituencies within the proposed 13-seat list. “Even among those 13 seats, they are now unwilling to give us the Gauripur seat. They cited some issue and offered two alternatives, Mankachar and Algapur-Kaltichera,” he added.
The Raijor Dal had submitted a counter-demand for 15 seats, including Naoboicha and Dhemaji, which the Congress did not agree to. Akhil Gogoi indicated that the core issue remained the lack of approval from the central leadership. “Gaurav said he would have to speak to Rahul Gandhi. So the meeting remained inconclusive,” he said.
With the deadline for filing nominations approaching, Akhil Gogoi stressed the urgency of the matter. “We don’t have many days left. We don’t have time,” he warned.
Complicating matters further, both parties have already announced candidates independently for several seats, which could make any last-minute seat-sharing arrangement difficult to implement.
Political observers suggest that a failure to finalise an alliance could split the opposition vote, potentially benefiting the ruling BJP in key constituencies across the state.