Congress to go solo for Assam polls

New Delhi: Efforts to unite non-BJP parties ahead of next year's Assembly polls in Assam have hit a snag, with top Congress leaders hinting at a possible solo contest in 2026.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, state Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah alluded to the likelihood of the party contesting alone, while party MP Pradyut Bordoloi abruptly exited an all-Opposition meeting held Saturday evening at a resort in Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati.

The meeting, convened by leading citizens to forge a common platform among Opposition parties — including the Congress, Left parties, Raijor Dal, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) — aimed to form a united front against the BJP. However, internal differences quickly emerged. Bordoloi, a two-time Lok Sabha MP and former state minister, left the meeting in his vehicle, declining to comment on his sudden departure.

Borah, who remained at the meeting, later refrained from detailing the discussions but posted a quote from Rabindranath Tagore’s "Ekla cholo re" on social media with the caption "Pre-poll/post-poll," suggesting significant differences of opinion. Although other Opposition leaders, including former DGP Harekrishna Deka and AJP President Lurinjyoti Gogoi, claimed that the meeting concluded with a unanimous decision to remain united, the mixed signals have cast doubts over the formation of a cohesive anti-BJP forum.

This internal discord recalls the breakdown of the 16-party Opposition alliance, Asom Sonmilito Morcha (ASOM), during last year’s bypolls over seat-sharing issues — a split that allowed the BJP and its allies to win all five contested seats.