- Bhupen Borah, former Assam Congress chief, joined BJP ahead of state elections
- Borah cited repeated humiliation by Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi as reason for exit
- Gaurav Gogoi criticized Borah's resignation as aligning with Himanta Sarma's political agenda
In Assam, it goes without saying that the ruling BJP's gain is the Opposition Congress's loss. This time, the Assam Congress faces an even bigger loss.
The former chief of the party's state unit, Bhupen Borah, has joined the BJP ahead of elections in the northeast state which has traditionally seen polarisation of votes over the issue of illegal immigration and demographic engineering.
A day after leaving the Congress, the leader with a 32-year political career in an exclusive interview with NDTV said his party colleague Gaurav Gogoi repeatedly "humiliated" him, which left him with no choice but to leave.
"Gaurav claimed I have been creating a misunderstanding within the party. This happened in front of everyone," Borah told NDTV.
"I raised the matter with the Congress leadership in Delhi at least 20 times. I told Rahul Gandhi clearly that I will not tolerate any humiliation, but he also did not listen," Borah said.
The announcement of Borah's latest move was made by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also known as the BJP's expert strategist in the northeast.
"I was in the Congress for the last 32 years. I was secretary of the All India Congress Committee and I became president of the Assam committee in 2021 for four years till the 2024 Lok Sabha election. During my presidency, I formed an alliance before the INDIA bloc was formed," Borah told NDTV.
He criticised Congress leaders for asking him to reconsider his decision to leave, and not focussing on the concerns he had raised.
"I sent a two-page resignation letter. Many Congress leaders called and asked me to withdraw the letter. But none of them ever discussed with me the complaints I had raised in the letter," the former Congress leader said.
Reacting to Borah's resignation, Gaurav Gogoi said the move proved true rumours about Borah's proximity to Himanta Sarma.
Gogoi said that immediately after resigning, Borah "joined and surrendered himself" to Himanta Sarma - a leader who had politically targeted him for years. He added the move also reflected the chief minister's "desperation" rather than any weakness within the Congress.
Borah will formally join the BJP on February 22.
