Attempt to unify Oppn runs into trouble as Congress indicates of going alone

Guwahati: An attempt to bring non-BJP parties together ahead of next year’s Assembly polls in Assam seems to have hit a roadblock, with top Congress leaders hinting at the possibility of the main opposition party going alone in 2026.

State Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah’s post on Facebook on Sunday hinted at the likelihood of the party treading the solo path, while party MP Pradyut Bordoloi’s abrupt departure from an all-Opposition party meet the previous evening also cast doubts on consensus for the formation of an anti-BJP forum.

Representatives of Opposition parties, including Congress, Left parties, Raijor Dal and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), had met at a resort in Sonapur, on the outskirts of Guwahati, on Saturday evening, at a meeting convened by leading citizens to bring together non-BJP parties on a common platform for the state polls.

Bordoloi, a two-time Lok Sabha MP and former state minister, had rushed out of the meeting and driven away in his vehicle, refusing to comment on his abrupt departure midway.

Borah, who stayed on in the meeting, later refused to divulge any deliberations held and said the decisions will be informed by the organisers.

However, his post on Facebook on Sunday morning hinted at possible major differences of opinion.

Borah quoted a couplet of the famous song by Rabindranath Tagore, ‘Ekla cholo re’, with a caption: ‘Pre-poll/post-poll’. The state Congress president could not be reached for his comments or clarification on the social media post.

Prominent writer and former DGP Harekrishna Deka, among the organisers of the meeting, claimed that a decision has been taken by the parties to remain united.

“There were discussions and arguments. But in the end the decision was that for the greater cause, all non-BJP parties will come together,” Deka said on Saturday evening.

AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi also said that a decision was taken to remain united.

“In a democracy, there are arguments. The MP left due to personal reasons. There were emotions, logical reasoning, arguments, discussions, and the decision was that we will take forward our united stand,” he claimed.

Raijor Dal chief and MLA Akhil Gogoi also maintained that the meeting ended with a unanimous decision.

“No one left in anger. There were arguments. But in the end, the decision was unanimous,” he said.

The 16-party Opposition alliance in the state, formed during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, had fallen apart during bypolls to five Assembly seats last year over the seat-sharing arrangement.

The forum, Asom Sonmilito Morcha (ASOM), without the Congress, had fought the bypolls together, but the BJP and its allies had swept the five seats with the Opposition drawing a blank.