Guwahati: The United Opposition Forum in Assam, which was floated to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2026 assembly elections, hit a stumbling block.
A major constituent of the forum, the Congress left the forum on Thursday after the party decided to field its candidate in the Behali constituency, which is heading for a by-election on November 14 along with four others—Bongaigaon, Samaguri, Dholai, and Sidli.
The United Opposition Forum of Assam was formed with 18 parties on the lines of the INDIA bloc to keep the BJP out of power in the 2026 assembly elections.
"The opposition forum of Assam exits, and it will continue to exist, but without the Congress. We have decided to back the CPIML candidate from Behali constituency," said Forum's General Secretary LurinJyoti Gogoi while speaking to the media on Thursday.
"The forum continues to work together to keep the BJP out of power in the 2026 assembly elections. All the other constituencies of the Forum have taken this decision unanimously," Gogoi said while addressing the media after emerging from a meeting of the Forum without a representative of the Congress.
"We (all the parties) have decided to come together with one objective—to keep the communal BJP out of power. However, Congress has betrayed us. But it is not a betrayal to us but a betrayal to the people of Assam, who have pinned their hopes on the Forum against the communal forces like the BJP," said Gogoi.
"The Forum was constituted with the sole objective of keeping the communal forces like the BJP at bay. We are still resolute on this objective, and we are going to continue our fight against the communal politics of the BJP in Assam," said Suprakash Talukdar, one of the working presidents of the Forum.
Sans Congress, now the constituents of the Forum include parties like the TMC, AAP, Raijor Dal, AJP, CPI(M), CPI, AIFB, CPI(ML), Jatiya Dal-Asom (U), Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar), Samajwadi Party, Purbancholio Lok Parishad (PLP), RJD, Karbi Anglong-based All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), Kamatapur Front, and Sonowal Kachari Gana Mancha.
