Days after activist-turned-MLA Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal to join the Congress-led bloc, a citizens’ collective said the Opposition unity must translate into an anti-BJP verdict in the April 9 Assembly election in Assam.

The Assam Nagorik Sanmilani, led by academician Hiren Gohain and retired IPS officer Harekrishna Deka, said that the BJP’s divisive politics has “hollowed out the Assamese identity from within”. It said that the BJP-led government handed over the State’s vital natural resources to multinationals over the past 10 years.

“The rule of law has vanished; the Chief Minister’s word now passes for law. The people of Assam have no choice but to remove this government, and another five years in power would spell disaster for ordinary citizens,” it said in a statement on Sunday.

Insisting that the decision of six Opposition parties to strike a seat-sharing deal was a relief for the people seeking a viable alternative, the collective said their unity “must ignite a mass awakening” to defend democracy and confront the BJP head-on.

It urged the Opposition bloc to prioritise reclaiming Assam’s resources for its people; ending mismanagement in education, health, and employment generation; building real, accountable systems; decentralising power to support the welfare for tribal and backward communities, resolving the illegal immigration issue through the proper implement of the Assam Accord of 1985; and ensuring swift justice for the deceased cultural icon, Zubeen Garg.

“We call on the Opposition to rally the people immediately around a common minimum programme centred on these issues. Opposition unity must be tangible — seen in street-level mobilisation and a cohesive electoral battle,” the collective said.