‘No alliance with AIUDF under any circumstances’: Gaurav Gogoi draws line ahead of Assam 2026 polls

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on December 16 made it clear that the party will not ally with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, calling the party “communal” and drawing a sharp line on opposition strategy ahead of the polls.

“There will be no alliance with the AIUDF under any circumstances. It is also a communal party like the ruling BJP. We cannot join hands with one communal force to defeat another similar force,” Gogoi told reporters.

His statement comes even as eight opposition parties have already come together to contest the next Assembly elections on a common platform to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The parties include the Congress, CPI(M), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI, CPI(ML), Jatiya Dal-Asom (JDA) and the Karbi Anglong-based All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC).

AIUDF had earlier been part of the Congress-led grand alliance during the 2021 Assembly elections. The partnership ended after Bhupen Kumar Borah assumed charge as Assam Congress president.

On broader opposition unity, Gogoi said alliance talks are handled discreetly. Such matters, he said, are not discussed publicly but are taken forward “through off-camera discussions”.

“Only after discussions are concluded we can say anything officially regarding alliances. The upcoming elections will not be easy for the BJP,” he added.

The Assam Assembly elections for 126 constituencies are expected to be held in March–April next year. At present, the BJP has 64 MLAs, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) — together account for 19 seats. The opposition benches include 26 Congress legislators, 15 from AIUDF, one CPI(M) MLA and one Independent.

Gogoi also launched a sharp attack on the BJP’s leadership in the state, claiming discontent within the party ranks. “The BJP has already seen that under the present leadership, its prospects are not very good,” he said, alleging that while ministers and a few close associates have benefited, grassroots workers have gained nothing.

He claimed that roads outside BJP workers’ homes remain unfinished, residents in areas dominated by BJP activists lack access to drinking water, and government schools in such villages are “in a deplorable condition”.

“BJP workers have also realised that CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has been running the party according to his own interests and along with a few close associates,” Gogoi, who is also the Deputy Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, said.

Responding to allegations that the Congress is pro-Miya, Gogoi dismissed the charge as politically motivated. He said people who love Assam and value its land, air and water have been joining the Congress since April.

“A look at the kind of people who have joined the Congress during this period clearly exposes such allegations as baseless and ridiculous,” he added.

The term ‘Miya’ has historically been used as a slur against Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, often labelled by non-Bengali speakers as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, sections of the community have reclaimed the term as an act of defiance.