State party president Bhupen Kumar Bora on Monday said the Congress is gearing up to contest the assembly bypolls in Assam, which is likely to be held by the end of this year, let alone without forging any alliance. He said the state Congress has decided to field its candidates in the seats where the bypolls will be held as it wants to regain the ground it had lost in the seats given to the alliance partners before the assembly elections held earlier this year.
Five assembly seats are now lying vacant due to the death and resignation of the MLAs, while another MLA, who became a Union minister, is yet to give up the membership of the House.
“Due to the alliance, our organization got weakened in many areas like Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). Our cadre got demotivated in the constituencies where we did not contest. needs to be strengthened.” State media journalists. He said that keeping in view the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2026 assembly elections, the Congress will fight the by-elections alone to encourage the grassroot workers and strengthen the party organization.
The Congress, which was in power in Assam for 15 years from 2001, had formed a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ with AIUDF, BPF, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM), RJD, Adivasi (Adivasi). The National Party (ANP) and the Jimochayan (Deori) People’s Party (JPP) are set to fight against the BJP-led NDA in the assembly elections this year. The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee last month decided to break the alliance with the AIUDF and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), while the CPI(M) has said it had made seat-sharing arrangements only with the Congress, but that it was part of it. was not. alliance.
“This will send a strong message to our workers that we are serious about rebuilding the party. We had some discussions with regional opposition parties like Raijar Dal (RD) and Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP). But Raijar Dal has already announced. candidate for one seat,” Bora said. However, he added that AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi’s proposal to field a common candidate for one seat is still under consideration.
“We have sought applications from interested Congress leaders in six constituencies by September 27. We will take a final decision only after that. If we insist on a united opposition, we cannot enthuse our workers,” Bora said. In the 126-member Assam Assembly, by-elections will be held in six seats: Mariani, Thaura, Bhabanipur, Tamulpur, Gosaigaon and Majuli.
Two Congress MLAs and one All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA have resigned from the assembly by joining the BJP. One MLA each from United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) were killed. The sixth seat is likely to fall vacant after former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal resigned as he joined the Union cabinet as a minister. Currently, the BJP has 60 MLAs, but effectively 59 as Sonowal is yet to resign from the assembly.
The ruling coalition’s ally – the AGP has nine and the UPPL has five. The strength of Congress is 27, while BPF has three and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is also an independent MLA.
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