Congress Party Releases Candidate List for Assam Assembly Elections

The Congress party on Tuesday released its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections. Among the prominent nominees are Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee chief Gaurav Gogoi, who will contest from Jorhat, and Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia, who is in the fray from the Nazira seat. The party has also fielded Abhijit Paul from Silchar, Indraneel Pegu from Majuli, and Mira Borthakur Goswami from Dispur. After the announcement, Gogoi thanked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for having faith in him. I am grateful to Congress President Shri @kharge ji , CPP Chairperson Smt Sonia Gandhi ji, LOP Shri @RahulGandhi ji, Chairperson @priyankagandhi ji, GSO @kcvenugopalmp ji and GS @JitendraSAlwar ji , members of the CEC for their continued guidance and belief in my abilities.I… — Gaurav Gogoi (@GauravGogoiAsm) March 3, 2026 Polling for the Assam Assembly is expected to be held in March–April. The Election Commission of India has not announced the poll schedule yet. In the current Assembly, the BJP leads with 64 MLAs. Its allies — the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) — hold nine and seven seats respectively, while the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) has three legislators. On the Opposition benches, the Congress has 26 MLAs, followed by the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) with 15 and the CPI(M) with one member. There is also one Independent legislator. Why Gaurav Gogoi’s Assembly Poll Debut Is Significant Gaurav Gogoi, who has never contested assembly elections, is the son of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi. The Congress has been out of power for almost a decade in Assam, which was ruled by Tarun Gogoi for 15 years. Gogoi was appointed as Assam Congress chief last year. The party has lost back to back assembly elections and only got three out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and 2024. Gogoi is facing attacks from Chief Minister Him anta Biswa Sarma, who has been alleging his links with Pakistan, a charge denied by the Congress leader.