Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah on Friday said senior party leader Rahul Gandhi was in favour of anti-BJP forces coming together to defeat the BJP in the 2026 Assembly polls in the state and has given him the nod to do whatever is required to achieve this objective.

Reacting to queries from media persons soon after a meeting with the Congress leader in Delhi, Borah said there was a “temporary break” in the alliance of Opposition parties during the last month’s Assembly bypolls where the BJP and its allies won all five seats, including the Congress bastion Samaguri.

“I have said earlier also that the collapse of the Opposition alliance before the bypolls was a mistake. I took up the alliance issue with Rahul Ji, for whom I am the PCC president today... I sought his suggestion on alliance today. He has once again told me that do whatever is required to defeat the BJP. From the outset, he has been in favour of getting anti-BJP forces together,” he said.

Borah added: “I have been in favour of the Opposition alliance from the beginning. I am one of the founders of the Opposition alliance. There was a setback ahead of the bypolls but we want everyone to be together, not only anti-BJP political parties but also individuals and organisations who are against the BJP’s fascist and communal character.”

Borah’s remarks come a day ahead of a meeting called by Opposition parties Raijor Dqal and Assam Jatiya Parishad to discuss the alliance issue because despite the differences that cropped up during the bypolls over candidate selection, the anti-BJP parties know that a divided Opposition cannot challenge the well-entrenched BJP.

The PCC president, sources said, will soon start reaching out to the Opposition bloc to revive the Asom Sonmilito Morcha (ASOM), formerly United Opposition Forum, of which Borah was the president and Lurinjyoti Gogoi was the general secretary. Borah had to quit his post following differences over the selection of the Behali candidate in the bypolls.

Borah’s media interaction also covered one more issue dominating the headlines — the Assam cabinet decision on December 4, banning public consumption of beef in hotels, restaurants and community gatherings.

Assam chief minister had said the move would further strengthen the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, which regulated the “slaughter, consumption, illegal transportation” of cattle within and outside the state.

Sarma had said the move was triggered by the accusation by Congress’ Borah and his colleague, MP Rakibul Hussain, that the ruling BJP wooed voters in Muslim majority Samaguri by “offering” beef. The BJP won the seat which had been with the Congress since 2001.

Borah attributed the cabinet decision to the “scolding” Sarma had received from the RSS and the BJP leadership over the steps they had taken to win Samaguri.

“ When BJP’s steps (offering beef) to win the Samaguri seat, to get votes got exposed ... to win Samaguri, the ideology of the RSS and BJP was undermined... Now chief minister is being scolded by the RSS and the BJP leadership...,” Borah said when asked about the reason behind the ban.

The PCC president then invoked two revered figures in Assam — 16th century Vaishnavite saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardeva and Chaolung Sukapha, the founder of the Ahom dynasty to hit out against the ruling BJP and Sarma.