APCC claims strong position in 46 LACs, signals resurgence beyond minority belt

Guwahati, March 3: With the Election Commission of India (ECI) expected to soon announce the schedule for the 2026 Assam Assembly polls, the principal opposition Congress is confident of its prospects in at least 46 Legislative Assembly Constituencies (LACs) in the State.

Highly placed sources in the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), meanwhile, said that a few sitting legislators may be denied candidature this time.

“Our party’s position has improved significantly in the last four months. Ground reports have given us reasons for optimism. Based on the assessment, we have identified 46 LACs where our party’s win is either certain or our chances are really very good,” a senior APCC office-bearer told The Assam Tribune.

The office-bearer added that the Congress is confident of winning seats across the State. “The BJP is trying to create a narrative that the Congress is confined only to the minority belt.

However, following the delimitation exercise, the number of Muslim-dominated seats has declined.

There are now only 19 seats where Muslims constitute more than 50 per cent of the electorate, and in 15 of those seats, there are more than 90 per cent Muslims. We are going to win most of those constituencies.

“At the same time, we have been able to achieve a sort of resurgence in other parts of the State as well. For example, there are now 43 seats in Upper Assam and the North Bank districts. Our organizational position is very good in at least 23 of them, which is a definitive improvement compared to the situation even a few months ago,” he said.

Asked about the prospect of the party’s alliance partners, he said, “The tally of our allies taken together will be in the single digit at most.”

Congress sources blamed Raijor Dal for the delay in finalizing seat-sharing with the Akhil Gogoi-led party.

“Raijor Dal’s intransigence is causing the delay. They are adamant in seeking at least 12-15 seats, which is way above their organizational strength. They are punching above their weight. However, we expect Raijor Dal to finally settle for a lower number,” said another Congress leader.

He said that some sitting MLAs of the Congress could be denied re-nomination in the coming elections.

“Our party has undertaken independent surveys by external agencies to gauge the mood of the electorate and evaluate the performance of our MLAs. In addition, the screening committee headed by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also taken feedback from the party workers up to the booth and mandal levels. Selection of candidates will be done after factoring in the report of surveys and the feedback received by the screening committee. Not all the serving MLAs may get tickets this time. Ultimately, winnability will be the major criteria,” said the leader.

A meeting of the screening committee is likely to be held on March 5.

“The first list of candidates could be announced any time after that. But the subsequent lists could be delayed a bit. The party wants to factor in the developments within the BJP-led NDA camp,” he said.

He said that transfer of votes among opposition bloc partners is a source of concern in some seats. “We need to increase coordination so that there is no rebellion by party workers at the constituency level and also to ensure smooth transfer of votes among the allies. In some seats like Dalgaon and Dhing, transfer of votes is unlikely to happen but we are keen to prevent a similar situation in other constituencies,” said the source.

The Congress believes there is an undercurrent against the BJP among a huge segment of the electorate. “We need to firm up our strategy accordingly to capitalize on the discontent among the masses against the government,” said the Congress source.