On Friday (2nd January), Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that the Congress has been demanding ₹3-4 crores from candidates wanting to contest from Miya Muslim-majority constituencies in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha election.
For the unversed, about 25 of the 126 Vidhan Sabha seats in Assam have a majority of Miya Muslims.
While speaking to the media, he informed, “For the seats with ‘Miya-Muslim’ majority, the Congress will take ₹3-4 crores from its candidates. It took a similar amount of money in the last elections also.”
“Some of the candidates have paid an advance also…The party did not even refund the application fees to its members in seats where the opposition allies contested last time,” Sarma emphasised.
The Assam CM continued, “Their system is based on money. But in the BJP, we take no money or fees from our members for applying for a party ticket.”
It must be mentioned that the Congress party invited applications from candidates for the 2026 Assam Vidhan Sabha election. The application fee was a non-refundable amount of ₹ 50,000.