Assam polls: Congress names 42 candidates in first list; Gaurav Gogoi to contest from Jorhat

The Congress, which is in talks with opposition parties for an alliance, had announced earlier that it would contest 100 of the state’s 126 seats

Published on: Mar 3, 2026, 22:17:26 IST

By Utpal Parashar, GUWAHATI

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The Congress on Tuesday released its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming elections to the 126-member Assam assembly, becoming the first party in the state to start announcing its candidates.

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi during unveiling of a 'charge sheet' against the state's BJP government, in Guwahati, on Feb. 19 (PTI)

Gaurav Gogoi, the president of the party’s state unit and Congress’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha, will contest the election from the Jorhat. The assembly segment is one of the 10 that make up the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat he represents in parliament.

Elections to the state assembly are expected to be held in April.

Apart from Gogoi, other prominent faces in the Congress list are former state unit president Ripun Bora who will be contesting from Barchalla and the leader of opposition in the assembly, Debabrata Saikia, who will contest from the family’s stronghold Nazira.

Nandita Das, the sitting MLA from the reserved seat of Boko, has been fielded from Hajo-Sualkuchi seat, which is also reserved for scheduled caste candidates. Mira Borthakur Goswami, the party’s women wing president, has been named from the Dispur seat.

The Congress, which is in talks with several opposition parties to forge an alliance against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, had announced earlier that it would contest from 100 seats.

The state elections will test whether a united opposition can dismantle the BJP’s decade-long grip on the northeast

The announcement comes amidst a bitter war of words between the Congress and the ruling BJP. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has targeted Gaurav Gogoi, the son of a former three-term chief minister Tarun Gogoi, alleging that Gaurav and his British wife, Elizabeth, who was first posted in Pakistan and later in India as a representative of a climate action group, had ties to Pakistani intelligence.

Gogoi has denied the allegations, calling them a smear campaign intended to distract from governance issues.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Parashar
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.Read More

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