Congress unveils second list of Assam candidates, keeps 15 seats for allies

The Congress on Saturday announced its second list of 23 candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, leaving 15 seats for alliance partners. With these names, the party has now fielded 65 candidates for the state’s 126-seat Assembly , where elections are slated for April .

The second list , released by K C Venugopal , includes Nurul Islam from Srijangram, Abdul Khaleque from Mandia, Rakibuddin Ahmed from Chamaria, Devid Phukan from Tinsukia, and Bipul Gogoi from Tingkhong. Key constituencies such as Bajali, Palasbari, Guwahati Central, Goreswar, Morigaon, and Barhampur have been reserved for alliance partners .

Congress had earlier announced its first batch of 42 candidates, including Gaurav Gogoi from Jorhat. Debabrata Saikia will contest from Nazira, while Ripun Bora has been fielded from Barchalla. The party has been out of power in Assam since 2016 , when the BJP-led alliance won 60 seats and Congress managed 26.

As the polls approach, the BJP , AIUDF , and AGP are finalizing candidates and strengthening ground-level campaigns. Analysts predict a multi-cornered contest , with the opposition alliance aiming to reclaim lost ground.

The stage is set for a highly competitive election, with parties rolling out candidates early and focusing on consolidating votes in a politically diverse state.