'Assam BJP Now Congress With Different Label': Gaurav Gogoi On Turncoats

There is no BJP in Assam as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma leads a group of former Congress leaders who switched camps to contest polls for their own interests, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi has said. The remark comes weeks ahead of the Assembly polls in Assam and amid a series of high-profile exits from the Congress.

"What stands before us is a Congress led by Himanta Biswa Sarma; it merely carries the BJP tag. The leaders who did wrong during Tarun Gogoi's tenure are now in the BJP. This election will be a fight between the Congress led by Tarun Gogoi and the Congress led by Himanta Biswa Sarma," Gogoi told the media while canvassing for Congress candidate Dr Indranil Pegu in Majuli.

"There is no BJP in Assam now. What exists is a Congress under Himanta Biswa Sarma with a BJP label. Under his leadership, some former Congress leaders have gathered at Vajpayee Bhawan, striving hard to contest elections for their own and their families' interests. On the other hand, we represent a Congress inspired by the ideals of Tarun Gogoi," he said, invoking his father, a Congress stalwart and Assam's longest serving Chief Minister.

The Congress has seen some big-ticket exits in this election season. Last month, former state Congress chief Bhupen Borah joined the BJP. And then, Lok Sabha MP and former state minister Pradyut Bordoloi switched to the BJP. The turncoats have criticised the state party leadership now under Gaurav Gogoi.

Gogoi, who is a Lok Sabha MP and deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said the people of Assam will decide whether they want the Congress led by Himanta Biswa Sarma or the Congress based on Tarun Gogoi's ideals. "During the Congress government in Assam, certain leaders and ministers whose actions tarnished the image of Tarun Gogoi's government are now assembled at (the state BJP headquarters) Vajpayee Bhawan, seeking positions as ministers and MLAs. We stand with a Congress that moves forward with Tarun Gogoi's ideals, where people are seeing new faces emerge," he said.

He reiterated that this election is not a fight between the BJP and the Congress, but a contest between the "old Congress" led by Himanta Biswa Sarma and a "new Congress" inspired by Tarun Gogoi.

"This time we are focusing on new faces. There is considerable unity among opposition parties in Upper Assam, which makes me optimistic that a Congress-led government will be formed in Assam. The first signs of this change will be seen in Upper and North Assam, where we expect better results," he said.

The BJP responded sharply. Party spokesperson Rupam Goswami told NDTV, "Our Chief Minister and many other leaders came from the Congress to the BJP in 2015. They are not new to the BJP. The Congress, too, has many turncoats like Meera Borthakur and Ashok Sarma, who were earlier with the BJP. Now, the Congress is a party of Miya Muslims so no Sanatani Hindu can stay there. The remaining Hindus in the Congress will also silently vote for BJP," he said.