Guwahati: Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi has called for a leadership change in the Assam Congress following the party’s third-place finish in the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election, describing the defeat as a major setback for all anti-BJP forces.
Gogoi, a former ally of the Congress, questioned state party president Gaurav Gogoi’s leadership and argued that the result exposed the Congress’s inability to retain minority support in a constituency with a sizeable Muslim electorate.
The BJP’s Devasish Sharma won the by-election with 6,77,258 votes, defeating All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal, who secured 5,04,731 votes. Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora finished third with 1,20,123 votes. Sharma’s winning margin was 1,72,527 votes.
Reacting to the result, Akhil Gogoi described the Congress’s performance as a historic defeat and called on Gaurav Gogoi to resign as Assam Congress president. He also urged the party to undertake a fundamental review of its leadership and strategy for challenging the BJP.
Akhil Gogoi questions Gaurav Gogoi’s leadership
Akhil Gogoi’s sharpest criticism concerned the Congress’s performance in a constituency where Muslims are estimated to account for around 55–58 per cent of the electorate following the 2023 delimitation.
“The minority vote share for Congress has plummeted from 25% to just 5%,” Akhil Gogoi told ANI, according to reports.
He said the BJP’s victory in a minority-dominated constituency was a setback for the opposition as a whole.
“The BJP is poised to win this minority-dominated seat… This is a historic defeat for the Congress,” he said.
Questioning Gaurav Gogoi’s continuation as state Congress president, Akhil Gogoi said the party leader had failed to deliver and should step down immediately.
“In my opinion, Gaurav Gogoi should resign from the post of State Congress President this very day,” he said.
Speaking to Assamese news channel DT 365, the Raijor Dal leader also described the outcome as a tragic moment in Assam’s political history. He argued that the Congress needed to reassess its leadership and its approach to opposing the BJP.
His claim about the decline in minority support reflects his assessment of the party’s electoral position. The official vote count establishes the candidates’ overall totals but does not identify how voters from particular religious communities voted.
BJP wins Nagaon by over 1.7 lakh votes
The Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election was held on October 6, with votes counted on October 9.
BJP candidate Devasish Sharma polled 6,77,258 votes, while AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal received 5,04,731 votes. Congress nominee Sibamoni Bora secured 1,20,123 votes, leaving the party in third place.
The result was significant because the Congress had won Nagaon in both the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The by-election followed former Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi’s departure from the party and his subsequent victory in the Dispur Assembly seat, which left the parliamentary constituency vacant.
The contest became a three-way battle involving the BJP, Congress and AIUDF. The BJP’s victory and the AIUDF’s second-place finish put the spotlight on the Congress’s position in a constituency where minority voters are considered an important part of the electorate.
Akhil Gogoi had previously warned that a division among opposition parties could benefit the BJP. The final result has now given him grounds to question the Congress’s electoral strategy, although the vote totals alone do not establish the reasons behind individual voting decisions.
Congress and Raijor Dal parted ways in September
Akhil Gogoi’s attack comes weeks after the Congress formally ended its alliance with Raijor Dal on September 3.
The Assam Congress accused Raijor Dal leaders of repeatedly criticising Congress leaders and violating the understanding under which the parties had agreed to work together. Akhil Gogoi, in turn, had accused the Congress of sidelining his party during alliance negotiations.
The differences had reportedly been building for months, particularly over seat-sharing arrangements and the role each party would play in opposition efforts against the BJP.
Akhil Gogoi had said Raijor Dal sought a larger share of seats for the Assembly elections, while the Congress was prepared to concede only four seats. The disagreement contributed to the breakdown of the alliance.
Despite the split, Akhil Gogoi announced on September 15 that Raijor Dal would not field a candidate in the Nagaon by-election. He said the decision was guided by the larger objective of preventing communal forces from gaining ground, while also expressing the view that his party would have preferred to support the Congress had it remained part of the alliance.
Raijor Dal’s decision not to contest did not prevent Akhil Gogoi from criticising the Congress after the result. Instead, the defeat has sharpened the differences between the former allies.
Nagaon defeat adds to Congress’s electoral challenges
The by-election comes amid wider questions about the Congress’s political position in Assam.
The party had retained Nagaon in the previous two Lok Sabha elections, making the loss a setback for its parliamentary presence in the state. Bordoloi’s departure had already reduced the Congress’s representation from Assam, and the by-election offered an opportunity to retain the seat.
The Congress’s third-place finish also means that AIUDF’s Ajmal finished ahead of its candidate. That outcome is particularly notable given the history of competition and disagreements between the Congress and AIUDF over opposition strategy and minority representation.
Gaurav Gogoi had previously ruled out an alliance with Ajmal’s party, citing what he described as AIUDF’s poor electoral performance. The Nagaon result has now renewed questions about the Congress’s assessment of its rival and its ability to consolidate opposition votes.
The BJP’s victory does not, by itself, establish that minority voters have abandoned the Congress. However, the result has intensified the debate over whether the party can maintain its traditional support base and whether separate opposition campaigns have made it easier for the BJP to win.
Minority support becomes a central political question
Akhil Gogoi has framed the Nagaon defeat as a warning that the Congress can no longer assume it will retain support from minority communities.
His comments followed a campaign in which the constituency’s demographic profile was a prominent part of the political discussion. Estimates after delimitation placed the Muslim share of the electorate at around 55–58 per cent.
However, the election results are recorded by candidate and do not provide a religious breakdown of voters. It would therefore be inaccurate to conclude from the overall totals alone that minority voters as a group shifted away from the Congress.
The result does show that the Congress failed to finish ahead of AIUDF in this contest. That is likely to prompt further debate within the opposition over candidate selection, coordination and the ability to appeal to voters across communities.
Akhil Gogoi has argued that the party’s leadership must take responsibility for the outcome and reassess its political approach.
Raijor Dal’s role in Assam politics
Akhil Gogoi founded Raijor Dal in October 2020 following the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. The party emerged as a regional political force seeking to challenge the BJP and represent issues associated with Assam’s regional and democratic movements.
Gogoi represents Sibsagar in the Assam Assembly, while Mehboob Muktar represents Dhing. The party has a limited legislative presence compared with the larger political formations in the state.
Its alliance with the Congress had been part of efforts to coordinate opposition activity. The September split, however, exposed disagreements over leadership, seat-sharing and political strategy.
The Nagaon result has now become another point of friction. Akhil Gogoi has used the Congress’s poor performance to question Gaurav Gogoi’s leadership, while the Congress faces the challenge of explaining why it finished third in a constituency it had previously won.
Congress faces questions over its strategy
The Nagaon by-election has placed the Assam Congress under renewed scrutiny, both over its electoral performance and its relationship with other opposition parties.
Akhil Gogoi’s demand for Gaurav Gogoi’s resignation reflects the criticism being directed at the party after its defeat. His assertion that the Congress has lost minority support remains a political claim, but the result has clearly strengthened the debate over how the opposition should approach future contests.
For the BJP, Sharma’s victory returns Nagaon to the party. For the AIUDF, Ajmal’s second-place finish puts it ahead of the Congress in a constituency where opposition coordination had been a central issue.
The Congress now faces questions about its leadership, its ability to retain support and whether its strategy can challenge the BJP more effectively. The result has also highlighted the continuing divisions among Assam’s opposition parties, with Akhil Gogoi’s criticism adding pressure on Gaurav Gogoi and the state Congress leadership.