In a significant setback for the Congress ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, former state unit chief Bhupen Kumar Borah has resigned. Borah reportedly sent his resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, alleging that he was being “ignored” by the party leadership and not given his due within the state unit.
As soon as news of Borah’s resignation began doing the rounds, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, calling him the “last Hindu leader in the Assam Congress party,” said he would visit his house on Tuesday evening.
“Three years ago, we were ready to welcome Bhupen Borah and give him a safe seat,” Sarma said.
Sarma further claimed that ever since he alleged that present Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi had links to Pakistan, a wave of grassroots “Hindu Congress leaders” had begun joining his side. He also predicted that around five more MLAs would switch over in the next fortnight.
"Congress's position in Assam is terrible. Three observers have come here for the selection of candidates. They have been assigned an MLA from the minority community. The situation is really grim. In many district offices of Congress in Assam, meetings begin with a religious prayer from a particular community. The Congress in Assam is changing fast. People are noticing it. Bhupen Borah's resignation carries a symbolic message that Congress has lost its last Hindu leader," he added.
Borah served as president of the Assam Congress from 2021 to 2025 before being replaced last year by Gaurav Gogoi. A two-time MLA, Borah told reporters in Guwahati that he emailed his resignation to the party high command at 8 am, detailing the reasons behind his decision.
''I don't want to say anything more than this. I will invite mediapersons at an appropriate time and give all the details. I don't hide anything and will not take any steps in secrecy,'' he said.
Amid reports of Borah's resignation, several Assam Opposition leaders have reached his home. Borah, in his interaction with journalists, said that he has received offers from several leaders, including Akhil Gogoi from the Raijor Party.
Congress leaders like Gaurav Gogoi, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh and Pradyut Bordoloi, and Raijor Dol chief Akhil Gogoi are at Bhupen Bora's residence in Guwahati, trying to negotiate and get him to stay back in the party.
Borah said he has not ''resigned from the party due to any particular person or any personal reason."
''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 said.
On joining any other party before the elections, Borah said no party has given him ''any proposal till now''.
Assembly elections are due in Assam in a couple of months.
''There has been no formal proposal from any political party, but it is a fact that I have not taken the decision to resign to bid farewell to politics,'' he said.
Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi ''met me yesterday and we talked about several issues at a personal level'', Borah added.
Source: India Today