The Congress party’s two key alliance partners, Raijor Dal, led by peasant leader Akhil Gogoi, and the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), headed by Lurinjyoti Gogoi, have steadily gained political visibility and grassroots support over the years. Both leaders rose to prominence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act movement, which resonated strongly among sections of Assamese youth, students, and rural voters, particularly in Upper Assam. Their appeal lies more in stirring issue-based support around identity, land, citizenship, and regional rights.
Congress leaders believe that while neither the Raijor Dal nor the AJP has been able to develop a dense cadre or demonstrate the ability to independently win a large number of seats, their strength lies in influencing vote transfers and, most probably, in consolidating anti-Bharatiya Janata Party sentiment in closely contested constituencies. A senior Congress leader said, "If the Congress is able to coordinate well with these parties, we can create a challenging force to battle the BJP."
Party insiders believe their presence could help the grand old party expand its reach beyond its traditional minority support base, which constitutes more than 34 per cent of the state's population, and reconnect the party with sections of Assamese voters who have drifted away in past elections. However, party leaders also flag the Congress's slow and last-minute seat-sharing pacts in other assembly elections, such as in Bihar, that could stymie the camp's momentum.
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Translating popularity into votes will depend on seat-sharing clarity, campaign coherence, and the ability of the alliance to project unity on the ground, which will require early seat-sharing decisions. A political analyst based in Assam said, "If these two leaders are able to translate their popularity into votes, it will be interesting to see how that can pull up the Congress, especially if the party also performs better than last time. The difference in the vote percentage between the BJP alliance and the Congress camp was not too large in the 2021 assembly elections. Right now, there are too many moving parts, but the opposition alliance can give a tough challenge if it gets its act together quickly."
