In a significant setback for the Congress party ahead of the Assam assembly polls, former state unit president Bhupen Kumar Borah resigned from the party on Monday, sending his letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Borah, who led the Assam Congress from 2021 to 2025 before being replaced by Gaurav Gogoi last year, cited being "ignored" by the party leadership and not receiving his due in the state unit as key reasons for his departure.
Within hours of the resignation, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma extended an open invitation to Borah to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stating that the party's doors were wide open. Speaking to reporters in Guwahati outside the assembly, Sarma promised to secure a "safe seat" for Borah in elections if he joins the BJP, highlighting Borah as the "last Hindu leader" in Congress without a prominent family background—neither his father nor mother having held a ministerial post or been an MLA.
"His resignation carries the symbolic message that in the Congress, no one from a normal family can prosper. Congress does not give recognition to people from ordinary families, but I hail from an ordinary middle class family and the BJP has made me a chief minister. We stay opposite to the politics of blue blood," Sarma remarked, contrasting BJP's merit-based approach with Congress's alleged favoritism toward political dynasties.
A two-time legislator in Assam, Borah emphasized that his decision was not driven by any particular person or personal grudge. "I have served the Congress for 32 years, and I am worried about the future of the party. I have explained in detail about my reasons in the resignation letter sent to the party high command," he stated, underscoring his long tenure and concerns for the party's direction.
Sarma announced plans to visit Borah at his residence on Tuesday to discuss his future plans, though he clarified that there has been no contact from Borah or the BJP so far. "At present, we are not in direct or indirect touch," the Chief Minister noted. He added magnanimously, "If he wants to join the BJP, we will welcome him, but even if he does not want to do so, we extend our best wishes to him."
The timing of Borah's exit amplifies the challenges facing Congress in Assam as it gears up for the assembly elections, with the resignation seen as a symbolic blow to its organizational strength in the state.
