Seat-Sharing Talks Between Congress, Regional Raijor Dal Collapses in Assam

Guwahati: The ongoing prolonged seat-sharing talks between the Congress party and Assam’s regional party Raijor Dal for upcoming assembly polls in the state collapsed on Monday with the latter describing the stalemate over one particular constituency---Dhing as prime reason.

In a statement issued by the party on Sunday, Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi said that talks between the two sides broke down despite several attempts by his party to reduce its seat demands in order to reach an agreement.

Mr Gogoi said that Raijor Dal had initially proposed contesting 27 seats but gradually brought the number down to 20 and later to 15 to accommodate the Congress.

“Congress agreed to 13 seats, but only four of those were from the list we had proposed. Later, we told them we would accept all their conditions, but we needed Dhing,” the statement said.

He said that the disagreement over the Dhing constituency eventually became the key sticking point that prevented the alliance from taking shape.

It is significant that on Friday, the Congress and three other parties, the Asom Jatiya Parishad, the All Party Hill Leaders Conference, and the CPI(M), had announced that they would jointly campaign for the election.

Raijor Dal also expressed dissatisfaction over a joint press conference held on Friday by the Congress along with three other opposition parties in which it was not included, stating that the development had hurt the party’s “self-esteem”.

“The manner in which Raijor Dal was kept out of the alliance at that meeting was extremely disrespectful for us. We have observed that both the verbal and body language of the APCC president, Gaurav Gogoi, do not reflect support for the alliance,” the statement said.

The statement further alleged that Raijor Dal had consistently made “sacrifices” to build a united opposition front against the BJP, but claimed that the Congress had instead tried to force the party into accepting its terms.

Congress candidate from Dispur, Ms Mira Borthakur, said that APCC president Gaurav Gogoi had left for New Delhi on Sunday to discuss the issue with the party’s central leadership.

“Our leader Gaurav Gogoi wants the alliance and has been in talks with the AICC leadership. We are hopeful that there will be an alliance; not just on Facebook but in reality. In politics, patience is important,” Ms Borthakur said.

She claimed that Mr Gogoi would consult the party’s top leadership in New Delhi before any final decision is taken.