At a time when the Congress is going through a seesawing relationship with its alliance partners, Lurinjyoti Gogoi—the first president of the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), a regional party formed after the anti-CAA protests—has held the opposition alliance tightly together. He believes that the opposition will try to focus on getting more than 25 seats in upper Assam, which houses around 45 assembly seats. "If we win around 20 to 25 seats there, it will be a game changer," he tells THE WEEK. Excerpts.
Q/ How is the alliance going on right now? How is the coordination from the Congress?
A/ Discussions are going on. They [Congress] are willing to ally with all parties individually, and have discussed with every individual political party, including us. Other parties are also discussing individually. They will finalise after that probably.
Q/ How do you plan to expand AJP's grassroots organisation beyond upper Assam?
A/ Whichever constituency we have a stronghold on, and have got more than 25,000 votes in the last election, is our focus area. We have decided to organise up to the booth level in every constituency we are planning to contest. Not only the main committee, but youth and women wings, too.
Q/ What are the poll issues you are going to choose? BJP already has a huge voter base. How is your alliance going to get them on your side?
A/ Lots of issues are there, especially corruption. Plus, they (BJP) have taken more than ₹2,00,000 crore in loans, which has put pressure on the state exchequer and will eventually impact the state economy.
Q/ What is the percentage of people demanding ST status? Are you, as an opposition party, going to pick up these issues and agree to the demands if you come to power?
A/ Definitely. The six communities—Tai Ahom, Moran, Matak, Chutia, Tea Tribes, and Koch-Rajbongshi—are demanding ST status. Actually, there are two issues: the demand for ST status of these communities and then the demands for better pay among tea tribes. These two issues will be the game changers in upper Assam. BJP has a stronghold there, so we feel that if we capitalise on these two issues, we can make a big change in the 2026 elections.
Q/ Which constituencies do you think are opposition strongholds and BJP strongholds?
A/ BJP has a stronghold in upper Assam and central Assam. So, Congress and other parties are targeting particular areas so that we can win over 20 seats in upper Assam. From my point of view, upper Assam should be the focus area. Because, if we win around 20 to 25 seats there, it will be a game changer. In the minority areas, Congress and the opposition are already strong.
Q/ How much influence do the tea tribes community have in upper Assam?
A/ They have influence in maximum seats. We don't have a figure right now of what percentage they are of Assam's upper region's population, but they have control over a number of seats. If all join together, then it will be difficult for the BJP to win. Especially, the demand for ST status will be a major issue for them. If we capitalise in a planned way, BJP will be on the back foot.
Q/ Your assessment of the leadership of the Congress?
A/ When a party is in power, it is easy to clarify, easy to handle all the issues, as in the case of BJP. But, the Congress should be more aggressive from my point of view. Issues such as alliances must be settled promptly, as vote transfer remains a challenge at the ground level. Forming an alliance is simple for leadership at the top. Therefore, the alliance should be finalised soon to provide clarity on seat-sharing, allowing us to work together and take our vision directly to the grassroots.