As the party fields defectors and “parachute candidates” for the 2026 Assembly elections, the question grows louder: is the Congress rebuilding its base in Assam or dismantling its own organisational foundation? For the upcoming Assam Assembly election, the Indian National Congress was supposed to signal preparedness, unity and political momentum.
Instead, the Election Commission’s notification has triggered a deeply uncomfortable debate within the party’s ranks over whether the Congress is attempting a bold political reinvention in Assam, or quietly abandoning the organisational ethos that once defined it? The candidates’ list included several familiar faces from the party’s leadership. Among them is Gaurav Gogoi, deputy leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, who has been fielded from Jorhat. Senior leaders such as Ripun Bora from Barchalla and Debabrata Saikia from Nazira were also included. The list appears carefully designed to project social diversity and regional balance.
Candidates have been fielded in multiple Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste constituencies such as Majuli, Bokajan, Rongkhang, Boko-Chaygaon, Jonai, Barpeta, Jagiroad, Raha and Ramkrishna Nagar. On paper, this looks like a calculated outreach to historically under-represented communities. But beneath these optics lies a more troubling political reality. One of the most striking features of the list is the unusually large number of political newcomers suddenly elevated to electoral candidacy. Thirteen candidates are recent entrants into the Congress fold, several of them defectors from rival political formations including the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Asom Gana Parishad, and even the All India Trinamool Congress.
Former AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita has been fielded from Kamalpur. Former BJP MLA Kartik Sena Sinha will contest from Patharkandi. Binanda Kumar Saikia, another former BJP leader, has been nominated from Sipajhar. Ashok Kumar Sarma, who had earlier exited the BJP, has been given the Nalbari ticket. Even names with shifting political loyalties such as Santi Kumar Singha from Lakhipur have been accommodated. Perhaps the most curious example is the reported candidature of Indraneel Pegu from the Majuli (ST) constituency. Party insiders suggest that the ticket was allocated even before the individual had formally completed the process of joining the Congress.
This phenomenon has increasingly been described in political circles as the rise of “parachute candidates” – individuals who land nominations with little or no history of organisational work within the party. For a political organisation that once prided itself on rewarding years of grassroots commitment, this marks a dramatic and controversial shift. The irony is hard to miss. The Congress in Assam has already paid the price of internal discord and organisational erosion. In the 2021 Assembly election, the party’s defeat was partly attributed to fractured alliances and wakegrassroots coordination, allowing the BJP-led coalition to consolidate power.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP has since expanded its electoral footprint across caste, tribal and regional constituencies, many of which were once Congress strongholds. Yet instead of rebuilding its internal organisational strength, the Congress leadership appears to be experimenting with shortcuts. Defections are often interpreted as indicators of political momentum. When leaders cross party lines, it can signal shifting electoral winds. The Congress may therefore argue that attracting leaders from rival parties demonstrates renewed confidence in its electoral prospects. But a growing section within the party interprets the situation very differently. Across multiple constituencies, long-time Congress workers have expressed frustration at what they see as the marginalisation of loyal party cadres.
For many grassroots workers who spent decades sustaining the party during its weakest years, the sudden elevation of newcomers feels less like strategic expansion and more like institutional betrayal. The candidate list also reflects an organisational experiment associated with Rahul Gandhi’s broader political strategy empowering district Congress committee presidents. Leaders such as Girish Baruah from Bongaigaon, Utpal Gogoi from Sonari and Raton Engti from Bokajan have been nominated. The intention appears sound: strengthen district-level leadership and reward organisational work. But the execution has been inconsistent.
While some district leaders have been rewarded, numerous long-serving workers claim they have been overlooked in favour of recent defectors who joined the party barely months ago. The decision to field Mahananda Sarkar from the Barpeta (SC) constituency illustrates the delicate balancing act the Congress is attempting. Barpeta is not just another electoral constituency. Often referred to as the “Satra Nagari”, it represents one of the most culturally significant centres of Assamese Vaishnavite tradition associated with the legacy of the 16th-century reformer Madhabdev.
Introducing a relatively new political face in such a culturally sensitive constituency may be interpreted either as bold outreach or as a misreading of local sentiment. All of this unfolds against the backdrop of the BJP’s formidable dominance in Assam since 2016. Faced with this reality, the Congress leadership may have adopted unconventional strategies, including welcoming defectors who already possess local networks and electoral resources. The deeper criticism now being voiced within Congress circles is directed not merely at the candidate list but at the party’s central leadership itself. Many workers argue that the decision-making process has become excessively centralised, with the All India Congress Committee imposing choices that do not always reflect ground realities in Assam. This disconnect between the national leadership and local organisational structures has long plagued the Congress in several states. Assam may simply be the latest example.
(THE WRITER IS A POLITICAL ANALYST, COLUMNIST, AUTHOR, AND TECHNOCRAT)