Over 9,500 new members, including some from BJP, join Congress in Assam ahead of 2026 assembly polls
Guwahati: In a significant political development ahead of next year’s Assam Assembly elections, over 9,500 members, including several from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have reportedly joined the Congress across the state.
The joining programmes were organised simultaneously across all 35 districts of Assam. They were held from Dhubri, Goalpara, Bongaigaon and Kamrup in western Assam, to Morigaon and Nagaon in central Assam, and further east in Jorhat, Sivasagar, Charaideo and Dibrugarh. Similar programmes were conducted in the northern districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur, Deccan Herald reported on Tuesday.
In Dhubri, the joining event was attended by Lok Sabha MP and former minister Rakibul Hussain. Addressing a similar function in Philobari, Tinsukia district, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led state government, alleging that the people of Assam were being “crushed under coal syndicates, sand syndicates, supari (betel nut) syndicates and illegal tax.” Gogoi also criticised the government for neglecting the state’s tea industry, a key sector in Assam’s economy.
In Guwahati, more than 100 individuals, including lawyers from the Gauhati High Court, senior citizens, and members who had held key posts in the saffron party, formally joined the Congress under the initiative of the Guwahati District Congress Committee.
Gogoi claimed that growing discontent with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s “autocratic style of governance” had led to an increasing number of people joining the Congress. "Keeping this mind, we organised joining programmes on September 10, October 10 and November 10. We will organise similar joining programme on December 10 also," he said.
Reacting to the development, Chief Minister Sarma dismissed Gogoi’s remarks, calling them “childish” and accusing the Congress leader of lacking political maturity.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
