Main game will be played in 2026 Assam assembly polls: Gaurav Gogoi

Newly appointed Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday said the party had announced right after last year's Lok Sabha elections that the ''main game'' will be played in the 2026 assembly polls in the state.

"My appointment as the state president is only a step in that direction but the journey for the 2026 assembly polls had begun after the last Lok Sabha polls," Gogoi said after arriving at Jorhat for the first time after becoming the state Congress president.

The Jorhat MP received a warm welcome at the airport by Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Debabrata Saikia, three newly appointed working presidents -- Jakir Hussain Sikdar, Roselina Tirkey and Pradip Sarkar -- senior party leaders and a large number of Congress supporters.

Asked about the alleged "lobby politics" in the party, Gogoi said that "in the Congress, there is only the lobby of the people".
    
He said that the party's focus will be on freeing people from the fear of syndicates, corruption and loot, and also on fulfilling the aspirations of the various tribes and communities in the state.

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He also pointed out that the prevailing flood situation in Guwahati, North Lakhimpur and other places, along with loss of freedom of expression, including that of journalists, are among issues the party will focus on.
   
 "Today, I have set foot in my home from where my late father Tarun Gogoi began his political journey. I am sure he is blessing me today from above," three-time former chief minister's son said.
    
"My father must be smiling down upon me and this very thought is giving me immense joy and happiness," the Congress's deputy leader in Lok Sabha said.
    
Gogoi expressed his gratitude to the people of Jorhat who made him their representative in the last Lok Sabha polls.
    
"I am sure that without this win, the central leadership would not have bestowed this important responsibility on me," he said.
    
Gogoi had wrested the Jorhat seat from the BJP by defeating sitting MP Topon Gogoi by 1,44,393 votes.
    
"Congress supporters have come out in large numbers to extend their love towards me and the party but the response of the general public, particularly those who are politically impartial, is really overwhelming," Gogoi said.
    
He said he will spend some time at his family home in Jorhat and also seek the blessings of the people of Kaliabor from where he had begun his political journey.
    
Gogoi later left for Titabor, represented by his father in the assembly for four terms, and then for Sivasagar where he would halt for the night.
    
On Sunday, he will hold a meeting with senior citizens in Sivasagar and then leave for Nagaon where he will halt for the night.
    
On Monday, he will meet Congress workers in Nagaon and then leave for Guwahati where he will go to the party headquarters.
    
He will meet party workers on Tuesday and officially take charge as the president of the state Congress.
   
 Gogoi replaced Bhupen Borah as the state president and will lead the party in the state elections at a time when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been attacking him over his wife's alleged connection with Pakistan's spy agency ISI.