Guwahati, Oct 19: The Congress party is strategizing for the upcoming by-elections in five assembly constituencies in Assam by fielding candidates in four seats—Dholai, Sidli, Bongaigaon, and Samaguri—while leaving Bihali for a consensus candidate from the Assam Sanmilita Mancha (ASOM).
A meeting of ASOM (formerly the United Opposition Forum) was held here on Friday evening, attended by AICC General Secretary Jitendra Singh, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Bhupen Kumar Borah, MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) President Lurinjyoti Gogoi, Raijor Dal President and MLA Akhil Gogoi, and CPI-M State Secretary Suprakash Talukdar.
During the meeting, a five-member committee was formed to finalize the candidate for the Bihali constituency and submit a report to the APCC president by October 20. The committee consists of Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, Akhil Gogoi, Suprakash Talukdar, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, and APHLC President Jonnes Ingty Kathar.
CPI-ML leaders advocated for nominating their candidate, Vivek Das, for the Bihali constituency to strengthen the united opposition in the state. Several other leaders supported this move and called for maintaining the united opposition until the 2026 elections.
Earlier in the day, the APCC initiated the candidate selection process at Rajiv Bhawan, in the presence of AICC General Secretary Jitendra Singh. Following the meeting, the APCC submitted a list of candidates to Singh, with the AICC expected to finalize the list by Saturday evening.
The by-elections will take place on November 13 in the constituencies of Sidli, Bongaigaon, Dholai, Samaguri, and Bihali, with the vote counting scheduled for November 18
