The Raijor Dal (RD), led by Akhil Gogoi, may have distanced itself from the broader opposition alliance in Assam for now. But the regional party’s failure to reach a consensus on seats indicates less about disagreements over numbers and more about alliance mismanagement by the dominant partner, the Congress.
For a long time, Akhil Gogoi had been repeatedly trying to coordinate with the Congress party and seeking more clarity from the alliance. However, the Congress party has been mired in factionalism, which has put pressure on the opposition bloc and impeded its smooth functioning.
A section of Congress leaders believes the party is not seen as a solid bloc against the BJP, which weakens the perception of its leadership and makes it difficult for allies to fall in line. As a result, the entire alliance remains on shaky ground.
Congress Assam unit spokesperson Bidisha Neog Disha, however, believes that the other partners in the alliance stand firmly with the grand old party, and everything is going on smoothly. "The party leadership will take a decision over the Raijor Dal. For now, they have broken up the alliance with us," she says.
On top of that, Assam state unit president Gaurav Gogoi and the AICC in charge of Assam, Bhawar Jitendra Singh, have still not been able to establish a collective leadership, which has made decision-making either slow or weak.
The Raijor Dal said it had initially sought 27 of the 126 seats but reduced its demand to 15 at the Congress’s request. Eventually, the RD agreed to contest 13 seats, but claimed that only four of these were among the constituencies it had originally listed as its preferred seats.
As negotiations failed over the Dhing constituency, where the Congress has a strong voter base, the Raijor Dal issued an elaborate statement on the matter. Akhil Gogoi read the statement out to reporters, calling the meeting and joint announcement made in the absence of the Raijor Dal on Friday “disrespectful”.
“What is the actual reason for the friendship between the Raijor Dal and the Congress coming to a halt? In one statement, from the point of view of numbers, it is because of one constituency that the alliance is on the verge of collapse,” the statement read.
“Akhil has also stubbornly held onto his demands, which is not the right way to deal with an alliance partner during negotiations,” a senior Congress leader privy to the talks said. “Yet the alliance is not completely broken. We still hope we will renegotiate the deal and contest the upcoming Assam Assembly elections together.”
According to party insiders, alliance partners may be internally disenchanted because the Congress has not been able to pull itself together and take initiative on important aspects such as organising cadres, resolving internal differences among leaders and coordinating effectively even when elections are at the doorstep.
A political analyst said: “The breakdown talks less about negotiations and more about the relationship the Congress has developed with the Raijor Dal, and how the senior partner in the alliance has managed its affairs. If we look closely, the Congress may not have managed the alliance well, and the breakdown appears to be a byproduct of that mismanagement.”