Guwahati: The second list of candidates of the Congress for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections will be released on March 14, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi said on Friday after a key strategy meeting in New Delhi.
The meeting, held under the chairmanship of Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Indian National Congress, focused on finalising candidates and reviewing preparations for the polls in Assam.
Several senior leaders attended the discussion, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who heads the screening committee for the Assam elections. The meeting was also attended by AICC organisation general secretary K. C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary and Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh, co-incharge Prithviraj Prabhakar, along with central election committee members, observers and senior party functionaries including Manoj Chauhan and Vikas Upadhyay.
Party leaders held detailed discussions on the selection of candidates for the Assembly elections and other organisational matters related to the campaign.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Gogoi said that nearly 95 per cent of the party’s candidate list has already been finalised, and the second list will be announced on Saturday.
The Congress had earlier released its first list of 42 candidates on March 3 as part of its preparations for the high-stakes Assembly polls in the state.
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Responding to questions about the party’s possible alliance with Raijor Dal, Gogoi struck a cautious but hopeful note. He clarified that discussions have not collapsed.
“The alliance has only been paused, not broken,” Gogoi said, adding that both sides decided to step back temporarily after seat-sharing talks became heated.
According to him, the pause will allow leaders from both parties to reconsider the proposals calmly and explore ways to move forward.
With candidate selection nearing completion and alliance negotiations still open, the Congress leadership is now focusing on strengthening its organisational network ahead of the crucial electoral battle in Assam.
