Guwahati: Efforts to forge an Opposition alliance in Assam ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections suffered a setback after Raijor Dal, led by MLA Akhil Gogoi, announced that talks with the Indian National Congress over seat-sharing had collapsed.

Raijor Dal said the proposed alliance failed mainly because the Congress was unwilling to concede the Dhing Assembly seat in Nagaon district, a Muslim-majority constituency. The party had earlier joined a proposed alliance of six Opposition parties in November last year in a bid to challenge the ruling coalition in the state.

Leaders of Raijor Dal blamed the breakdown of negotiations on what they described as the “arrogance” of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi and senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Rakibul Hussain.

According to party sources, Raijor Dal had initially demanded 27 Assembly seats out of the total 126 in the state. After talks on February 19 failed, the party sent a letter to the Congress the next day revising its demand to 15 seats. However, the Congress reportedly did not agree to the proposal.

The Dhing constituency is currently represented by Aminul Islam of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which is not part of the proposed Opposition alliance.

Raijor Dal was formed in 2020 in the aftermath of the anti-CAA agitation in Assam. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the party contested in alliance with the Assam Jatiya Parishad. However, only Akhil Gogoi managed to win a seat, representing the Sivasagar constituency.

Gogoi had earlier been arrested on charges of alleged links with Maoists during the anti-CAA protests, though he later secured bail and continued his political activities.

The collapse of the alliance talks is seen as a setback for Opposition unity in Assam as parties attempt to consolidate support ahead of the elections.