Dibrugarh: Alliance negotiations between Congress and Raijor Dal hit a significant roadblock on Thursday as a marathon five-hour closed-door meeting between Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi ended without any breakthrough, raising fresh doubts over the prospects of their alliance ahead of the Assam assembly elections, reports Rajib Dutta.The two leaders met at the Tea County hotel in Dibrugarh from 11 am, with the talks stretching deep into the afternoon. Despite the length of the meeting, Akhil emerged visibly dejected, offering a frank and pointed account of what transpired behind closed doors.
“Today’s meeting remained inconclusive. Congress had spread the news through media houses that they will offer 13 seats to Raijor Dal. But surprisingly, we came to know during the meeting that even the 13 seats have not got approval from the Congress high command in Delhi. The list was made by Gaurav himself,” Akhil told the media.Akhil, who is the MLA from Sivasagar, revealed that even within the proposed 13-seat offer, disagreements had surfaced over specific constituencies.“Even out of those 13 seats, they are now reluctant to give us the Gauripur seat. They have given us two alternatives — Mankachar and Algapur-Kaltichera,” he said.Akhil added that the Raijor Dal had submitted a proposal for 15 seats, including the Naoboicha and Dhemaji assembly constituencies, which Congress had not agreed to. The stalemate, he indicated, stemmed largely from the fact that Gaurav’s own proposal is yet to receive the green light from the party’s national leadership. “Gaurav said he will have to speak to Rahul Gandhi. So the meeting was inconclusive,” Akhil said.With nomination deadlines fast approaching, Akhil highlighted the urgency of the situation. “We don’t have many days left for filing nominations. We don’t have time,” he warned.The talks are further complicated by the fact that both parties have already announced candidates independently for several assembly seats — a development that could make any last-minute seat-sharing arrangement increasingly difficult to untangle.Political observers note that a failure to stitch together a workable alliance could fragment the opposition vote, potentially benefiting the ruling BJP in closely contested constituencies across the state.
