Assam Assembly polls: Congress alliance stumbles as seat-sharing delays mount

With the Assam Assembly elections drawing closer, the Congress party once again appears to be struggling to hold its cadre together and is also seen to be slow in coordinating a cohesive alliance strategy, which has triggered unease among its partners. The Assam elections are seen as crucial for the grand old party, as is the 2026 Kerala Assembly election, where it has a strong chance of returning to power. West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the other two states up for assembly elections this year.

While the party’s organisational machinery may be active on paper, its functioning, clarity of issues, and cadre-level confidence are widely seen as being in disarray. Moreover, coordination with alliance partners remains weak. Crucial decisions regarding seat-sharing and the allocation of specific constituencies are still pending, preventing partners from beginning early preparations. This has added to the uncertainty.

Congress spokesperson and secretary AICC Bidisha Neog Disha says, "The preparations are going on, and Gaurav Gogoi ji has a different style of functioning. He is very efficient, and we came to know about it when he was able to win the Jorahat Lok Sabha constituency even though there were so many efforts from the BJP to defeat him, so that Congress does not have a leading figure in its camp. He has proved his leadership in his constituency earlier; he will lead the party to victory."

According to party insiders, internal surveys have painted a worrying picture for Congress if it chooses to contest the elections on its own. The same assessments, however, suggest that the party could emerge as a credible challenger to the BJP if it forges a strong, well-coordinated alliance, fights unitedly and has clarity of purpose.

Despite this, the Congress leadership is reportedly hesitant to take early decisions. One major concern party leaders suggest is the potential disengagement of leaders from ticket distribution. As several aspirants are expecting nominations, and clarity on candidates at this stage could therefore lead to rebellion and dissidence from those who were not able to secure tickets. 

This could eventually lead to loss of momentum as disappointed contenders could decide to work against the party’s interests. This fear has contributed to delays in announcing both candidates and the final seat-sharing formula.

As a result, the Congress has also failed to clearly spell out which constituencies it is willing to cede to its alliance partners, even though it has announced that it will contest 100 seats out of 126. This lack of communication has left smaller parties in the opposition bloc confused and struggling to chart their own electoral strategies.

A senior leader from one of the alliance parties said that while there is broad agreement on fighting the BJP together, the absence of timely decisions from the Congress has created uncertainty on the ground. “Without clarity, it becomes difficult to mobilise cadres or plan campaigns,” the leader remarked.

Another alliance partner was more blunt, saying repeated attempts to engage with the Congress state leadership have yielded insufficient response in order to accommodate our viewpoint regarding the elections, which have always pushed for urgency in delineating alliance strategy. 

“Our leadership has tried to communicate often. We even reached out to national leaders earlier, but when the state leadership itself is not proactive or does not understand the gravity of the situation, there is not much the central leadership can do,” the leader said.

"BJP can be seen on the ground; they are in power, which makes them score points on the visibility front. They have these initial positives on their side," a political analyst said, "For Congress to put up a credible challenge, it must put extra efforts, that is not visible, not even basic efforts are visible."

With elections fast approaching, the Congress’s ability to overcome indecision and rebuild trust within its alliance could prove crucial in determining whether it can mount a serious challenge in Assam or once again cede ground to its rivals.