Post Congress-Raijor Dal alliance, BJP eyes Sibsagar seat

GUWAHATI

The last-minute alliance between the Congress and Raijor Dal has made the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contemplate fielding a candidate in eastern Assam’s Sibsagar Assembly constituency.

Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi is seeking re-election from Sibsagar, where his position got strengthened after his party joined the Congress-led Opposition bloc, which has six political parties, including two from the Left Front.

Soon after filing his nomination papers for the Jalukbari constituency in Guwahati on Friday (March 20, 2026), Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the BJP would discuss with ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) the possibility of fielding its candidate in Sibsagar.

Sibsagar is one of the 26 seats the AGP is contesting. The regional party declared Prodip Hazarika, who was elected from the delimitation-devoured Amguri constituency in 2021, as its Sibsagar candidate on Thursday (March 19).

‘Not much of impact’

“Things could have been different had their (Congress-Raijor Dal) friendship been [formed] three or four months ago. Their alliance, so close to the election, will not have much of an impact,” Mr. Sarma told journalists.

However, he felt that a BJP candidate would be better placed to defeat Mr. Gogoi in Sibsagar than an AGP candidate. “We may field a candidate there, depending upon how the AGP looks at the scenario,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the BJP’s primary objectives are to secure Assam’s identity and accelerate the development work undertaken or initiated in the last five years. He also said it was his mission to bring every Hindu person into the BJP fold.

50% Muslim candidates

None of the 88 candidates the BJP has named is Muslim, but 50% of the AGP’s nominees are. Of the 26 candidates fielded by the AGP, 13 are Muslims. They include two Barak Valley MLAs — Karim Uddin Barbhuiya and Zakir Hussain Laskar — who crossed over from the Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).

The AGP’s Muslim candidates are in minority-dominated constituencies, which the BJP has largely steered clear of. “More than religion, the possibility of winning was the factor behind the selection of our candidates,” AGP president Atul Bora said.

The BJP’s other ally, the Bodoland People’s Front, has also fielded a Muslim among its 11 candidates. He is Rezaul Karim, fielded from the Parbatjhora constituency.

The only party that has fielded more Muslims than the AGP is the AIUDF. The latter has fielded candidates for 27 seats, and 24 of them are Muslims, resulting in a representation of almost 89%.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma’s National People’s Party has fielded MLA Mohammed Aminul Islam as one of its three candidates for the April 9 Assam election. Mr. Islam, who quit the AIUDF after being denied a ticket, is seeking re-nomination from Mankachar seat, which borders Bangladesh.