The six-party opposition alliance in Assam is facing internal strain after its poor poll performance, with Congress MP Rakibul Hussain urging Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi and the Congress high command to reconsider the party's alliance with Akhil Gogoi's Raijor Dal.
Congress and Left leaders unhappy with Akhil Gogoi
Congress and several Left leaders are unhappy with Akhil after he accused opposition leaders of allegedly not campaigning with the same intensity as Himanta Biswa Sarma. Meanwhile, Raijor Dal has called a review meeting on Tuesday to decide its future course of action. A senior Raijor Dal leader said the party is not in favour of continuing an alliance with Congress in the future.
Akhil Gogoi targets Gaurav Gogoi
Soon after the election results were declared, Akhil targeted Gaurav, with whom his relationship was uneven until Raijor Dal was included in the opposition alliance at the last minute. Rakibul, considered the tallest Muslim leader in the APCC and known to share cordial relations with the 19 newly elected Congress MLAs — 18 of whom are Muslims — has been vocal against Akhil.
“If he (Akhil) speaks like that even after being in alliance with us, I appeal to Gaurav Gogoi and AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh to rethink whether the alliance (with Raijor Dal) should exist,” Rakibul told the media. He alleged that Akhil and AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal have spoken in the same vein against Congress and claimed they were doing so at BJP’s behest.
Raijor Dal leaders express dissatisfaction
Some Raijor Dal leaders, however, believe that without an alliance with Congress, their party could have won a few more seats, including Mandia and some other Muslim-majority constituencies in lower Assam. In Mandia, after Raijor Dal denied a ticket to Sherman Ali Ahmed, he contested on a TMC ticket and won. “With Congress, it is difficult to go ahead. They were not interested in a common minimum programme. Gaurav did not attend any meeting for Raijor Dal candidates,” said a Raijor Dal leader.
Gaurav Gogoi's response
Gaurav recently said while Congress has been reviewing the reasons behind the defeat, Akhil’s statements have raised doubts about his position. Gaurav said it appears Akhil has decided to follow his own path according to a plan. “We also, as Congress, will march ahead as we decide,” he added.
