Assam sees fresh political shake-up as Congress MLA moves to Raijor Dal

Guwahati: With barely a few weeks left for the notification of the assembly polls, one of six Congress MLAs rumoured to defect has formally joined the regional political party, Raijor Dal, with the others poised to follow suit.

Among the group, three Hindu Congress MLAs are tipped to align with BJP, signalling deeper fractures within the opposition. Sources indicate their moves hinge on strategic timing amid intensifying poll preparations.


CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said he has asked the defectors to “stay put” until the Rajya Sabha elections conclude. “They have been expressing their intention to resign from Congress for a long time. We have asked them not to resign now and wait for some time as the elections for the three seats to the Rajya Sabha are very important. We will need the three votes,” he added.

Three Assam Rajya Sabha seats are due to become vacant on April 9, as BJP MPs Bhubaeswar Kalita and Rameswar Teli and Anchalik Gana Morcha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan’s tenures will end. This will require elections beforehand — likely by early April, to comply with legal deadlines. However, no official schedule from the Election Commission has been announced as of now.

On the prospect of new entrants into BJP, Sarma said, “For anyone to join BJP, we need to do a lot of calibration within the party, as we don’t have vacancies. I can predict that people will resign from Congress, whether or not they join BJP.... After Gaurav Gogoi’s Pakistan link, a lot of Hindu Congress leaders are joining BJP at the grassroots level.”

Abdur Rashid Mandal, who represented the Goalpara West assembly constituency in 2006, 2016 and 2021 on Congress ticket, officially joined the Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal in presence of the latter. He was seen occasionally supporting BJP-led initiatives, such as the Assam govt’s 2023 polygamy ban proposal, while staying with Congress.

“I am happy to join the growing Raijor Dal under Gogoi. I am looking forward to strengthen his hands as a simple worker,” Mandal said.

Besides him, Sherman Ali, first elected in 2011 on an AIUDF ticket before switching to Congress and winning from Baghbar constituency in 2016 and 2021, is likely to join Raijor Dal very soon.

Sashikanta Das from Raha constituency, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha from Karimganj North, Siddeque Ahmed from Karimganj South and Basanta Das from the Mangaldoi (SC) constituency are rumoured to defect from Congress soon.