The Congress is likely to go without a Chief Ministerial face in next year's assembly election in Assam and the party held a meeting today to discuss the situation there. The party's senior leader from the state Gaurav Gogoi -- who is also Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's Deputy in the Lok Sabha -- told NDTV today that the "people of Assam" will be the party's face in the coming election.
"The people of Assam want a change. The people of Assam are the face. The people of Assam are with the Congress because they want peace and normalcy to return," he said, dubbing the northeastern BJP-ruled state a "jungle raj".
Asked about factionalism in the party -- cited by many as one of the key reasons for the 10-year rule of the BJP in the state -- Mr Gogoi said it was just a "perception".
"We are united because we want a change," said the leader, whose father, Tarun Gogoi, was one of the most popular Chief Ministers of the state. He was also the longest serving Chief Minister, having headed three consecutive governments from 2001 to 2016.
Top Congress leaders from Assam met here on Thursday to discuss the party's strategy ahead of next year's state polls with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.
About the meeting, Mr Gogoi said, "One by one all states are going to elections next year. The state leaders have been called to Delhi and we have been asked to give a detailed analysis of what has been affecting the people of Assam. Mr Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and others gave us a patient listening and told us that we have to win our next election because we have to preserve democracy".
Announcing the meeting in a post on X, Mr Kharge wrote, "In a year, the people of Assam shall discard the politics of corruption, division and vendetta. 3.5 crore people of Assam look towards the Congress to usher in this change. No amount of select-media driven propaganda can shake their resolve for transformation".
Battlelines have already been drawn in Assam with the Congress levelling corruption allegations against the BJP-led government. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Mr Gogoi's wife of having links with Pakistan and the ISI - allegations the Congress has dismissed as a fallout of Mr Gogoi's outspoken remarks against him.
