Guwahati, March 14: Alliance negotiations between the Indian National Congress and Raijor Dal for the upcoming 2026 Assam Assembly elections have ended without a deal, the regional party announced on March 13.
In a statement, Raijor Dal alleged that several rounds of discussions held over the past few months failed to produce a final decision from the Congress leadership on forming a pre-poll alliance for the elections. The party said the matter was taken up at a high-level meeting of Congress leaders in New Delhi on Friday, but the talks ended without an agreement on seat-sharing.
According to Raijor Dal, the Congress rejected the alliance proposal put forward by the regional party and also refused to allocate certain constituencies that it had sought as part of the arrangement. The party claimed that earlier negotiations had already stalled when the Congress declined to directly allot the Dhing Assembly constituency.
During the latest round of discussions, the Congress also refused to leave the Ranganadi Assembly constituency and Dalgaon Assembly constituency for Raijor Dal, the statement said.
The meeting in Delhi was attended by Congress general secretary Jitendra Singh, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi and Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia, among others.
Raijor Dal said it had sought 15 Assembly constituencies under the proposed alliance arrangement. However, it alleged that the Congress agreed to directly allocate only a limited number of seats and suggested alternative constituencies of its own choice, while also proposing friendly contests in certain segments.
The regional party further claimed that in the latest discussions the Congress was willing to directly allot only three constituencies, a proposal that Raijor Dal described as unacceptable.
Following the breakdown in talks, the steering committee of Raijor Dal convened a meeting on Friday and decided to formally end negotiations with the Congress. The party also alleged that repeated delays in the discussions and shifting positions from the Congress leadership had affected its organisational preparedness ahead of the elections.
