Delimitation, 'pro-Muslim' tag force Assam Congress image makeover

Guwahati: With delimitation reducing Muslim-dominant constituencies to 22 from 30-35 before 2023 and the BJP's constant efforts to tag it "pro-Muslim", the Congress in Assam seems to be in an image-makeover mode as it looks to return to power after 10 years in the April 9 Assembly elections.

Gaurav Gogoi and his team are trying to display the "secular, inclusive" card with steps like severing ties with the Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF to stitching an alliance with Raijor Dal and the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) — two anti-BJP regional parties.

"Our target is not just to return to power but to establish a new bor Asom (greater Assam), where people of all religions and communities can live in peace, unity, and without fear," said Gaurav on Monday, soon after filing his nomination from Jorhat, about 400 km east of Guwahati. Gaurav is contesting the Assembly polls for the first time.

The delimitation exercise carried out only in Assam in 2023, in fact, came as a worry for Gaurav ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Kaliabor, a Lok Sabha constituency from where Gaurav was elected in 2014 and 2019, was removed and the demography redrawn. This left the Congress with no option but to field him from neighbouring Jorhat. Gaurav, however, surprised many by defeating sitting BJP MP Topon Kumar Gogoi. 

Encouraged by Gaurav's success, the Congress appointed him as its state-unit chief in May 2025, replacing Bhupen Kumar Borah, under whose leadership it had lost the 2021 Assembly polls.

Gaurav being an Ahom, an indigenous community having influence in several Assembly constituencies, the Congress decided to fight the Assembly polls under his leadership. His decisions, including on issues related to alliances with the Raijor Dal and the AJP, led to the resignation of two top leaders — Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi and Borah, both of whom joined the BJP — weeks ahead of the polls. However, the Congress still backed Gaurav.

The Congress will contest 100 out of Assam Assembly's total 126 seats, while the AJP and the Raijor Dal will fight in 10 and 11 seats, respectively.

The Congress has also given one ticket to the All-Party Hills Leaders Conference, which has a support base in the tribal-dominated Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts.

On Sunday, the Congress also inducted Nandita Garlosa, a minister in the Himanta Biswa Sarma Cabinet who quit the BJP after being denied a ticket. Gorlosa, who belongs to the Dimasa tribe, will contest from Haflong.

All these moves, according to Congress insiders, are a part of the Congress' image-makeover mission and a course correction to recapture votes in Upper Assam, where the BJP has made inroads since 2016.