Guwahati: The Assam Congress on Monday formally kicked off its preparations for the 2026 Assembly elections by opening the candidate application process at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati, signalling an organisational push ahead of the high-stakes polls.
The application window will remain open till January 20. Aspirants from all Assembly constituencies have been invited to seek party tickets by submitting the prescribed form along with a non-refundable fee of ₹50,000. Party workers said the application forms are also available on the Congress’ official website.
Bipul Gogoi, general secretary (organisation) of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), became the first aspirant to file his application, seeking the party ticket from the No. 119 Tingkhong Legislative Assembly constituency. Expressing confidence after submitting his papers, Gogoi said the electorate was eager for political change under the leadership of APCC president Gaurav Gogoi.
Another aspirant, Supreme Court advocate Abu Taher Ali Bepari, applied for the Congress ticket from the No. 8 Dhubri constituency along the India–Bangladesh border. Bepari said the electoral contest in Lower Assam would primarily be against the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which he described as the BJP’s “B-team”.
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As the application process got underway, the Congress sharpened its attack on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Dhubri Lok Sabha MP Rakibul Hussain claimed that voters across the state were “thoroughly fed up” with the ruling dispensation and determined to vote it out in the 2026 elections.
Speaking at a press briefing in Kokrajhar on Sunday after meetings with district Congress workers and representatives of social and student organisations, Hussain said the party had constituted several committees to streamline its election strategy. These include panels for manifesto preparation, campaigning, coordination and publicity.
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