Assam Assembly elections 2026: Bijni among 7 key seats in Congress's final candidate list

The Congress on Sunday announced its fifth and final list of seven candidates for the 2026 Assam polls, and is now contesting a total of 101 seats in the state Assembly.

Assam's 126 constituencies are set to go to the polls on April 9, with the votes to be counted on May 4.

"The Central Election Committee (CEC) of Congress has selected the Congress candidates for the ensuing elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly," an official statement from AICC general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal said.

Among the candidates declared in the final list announced by AICC General Secretary (Organisation), K.C. Venugopal, are Rajat Kanti Saha from Bijni, Joseph Hasda from the Gossaigaon seat, Birkhang Boro from Dotma-ST, and Anchula Gwara Daimary from the Bhergaon seat.

Notably, the Bijni seat had brought up issues within the BJP-led NDA in the state, after longtime BJP MLA Ajoy Kumar Ray was denied a nomination from this constituency, in favour of Arup Kumar Dey for the seat.

Ray's claim that the choice of Dey—who had admitted to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma that he had six cases to his name—for the Bijni spot instead of him (with reportedly zero cases) also sparked speculations of an alleged internal rift between NDA member Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) and the BJP. Ray contesting as an Independent candidate has also not been ruled out.

The party also declared Narayan Adhikari as its candidate from the Mazbat, Nirmal Langthasa from Haflong-ST, and Amar Chand Jain from the Katigorah assembly constituency.

This comes after the Congress on Friday released its fourth list of seven candidates that saw a sitting MLA dropped and 11 seats left for its alliance partner, Raijor Dal.

These 11 seats are part of the 15 seats that the Congress had announced it would keep for its allies in the Asom Sonmilito Morcha, the six-party alliance within which it is contesting the Assembly elections this year.

However, the Congress-led alliance, like the TMC, faces an uphill task in the elections, as it has been out of power in Assam since 2016, while the BJP-led government will be eyeing a third straight term.

In terms of numbers, the ruling BJP-led alliance has a strength of 64, with its allies Asom Gana Parishad at nine MLAs, the United People's Party Liberal at seven and the Bodoland People's Front at three members.

In contrast, the Congress-led alliance has 26 MLAs, with 15 for the AIUDF and the CPI(M) with just one member, a PTI report said. There is also one Independent legislator.