Dibrugarh : As political activity intensifies ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, senior Congress leader and APCC president Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the state’s ruling establishment, portraying the upcoming polls as a public reckoning rather than a conventional contest between parties.

Addressing a joint opposition convention in Dibrugarh, Gogoi said the election was “not a fight between political parties, but a fight of the people of Assam against a particular king.” Without naming any individual, he said voters were well aware of whom he was referring to, and accused the ruling dispensation of using money power, muscle power, communal polarisation and repeated violations of the law to retain power.

Gogoi said he was confident that the electorate would respond by uniting against what he described as politics driven by fear and intimidation. “The people of Assam will come together and defeat this politics of money and fear,” he said, adding that the outcome of the state elections would send a message far beyond Assam.

Describing the 2026 polls as a referendum on Assam’s identity and self-respect, the Congress leader said the people would not compromise on their culture, traditions, historical legacy and dignity.

He argued that a strong democratic verdict from Assam could resonate nationally and inspire resistance against injustice in other parts of the country as well.

Gogoi also alleged that the present government had created an atmosphere of fear across the state. Journalists, government officials and businesspersons, he claimed, were facing increasing pressure and harassment. “Such a climate of fear has never existed in Assam before. It was not there during the tenure of previous chief ministers,” he said, calling the situation unprecedented in the state’s political history.

In remarks that were seen as signalling a shift in opposition strategy, Gogoi hinted at possible changes in alliance politics ahead of the elections. “After this month, the phase of friendship will end, and a new political direction will be decided,” he said, suggesting that important decisions on opposition unity and electoral alignment could be taken soon.

The convention was attended by several opposition leaders and drew a large turnout of local residents. Speakers repeatedly stressed the need to safeguard Assam’s peace, unity and plural cultural identity in the run-up to the elections.

Concluding his address, Gogoi said the opposition was committed to restoring peace and democratic norms in the state. He vowed to end what he described as the “politics of injustice” and called on the people of Assam to reclaim their voice through the ballot box in 2026.

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