The Congress in Assam got two big jolts on Wednesday when party MP from Nagaon, Pradyut Bordoloi resigned and joined BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The next day, Bordoloi’s son Prateek, wrote a letter to Congress President withdrawing his candidature from Margherita constituency.
Former Assam Congress vice-president Dibyajyoti Talukdar also resigned from the party and he is expected to join the BJP soon.
The BJP high command on Thursday released its list of 88 candidates for Assam. Pradyut Bordoloi has been fielded from Dispur, while the CM will contest from Jalukbari. Bhupen Kumar Borah, former Assam Congress president, who joined BJP last month, has also been given the party ticket.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “wait and see, there will soon be no Hindu leader left in Assam Congress, because they are fed up of the party’s ‘appeasement’ policy, they are worried because of the effects of such a policy on Assam’s demography.”
This time, BJP will contest 89 out of a total of 126 assembly seats, while 37 seats have been left to allies. Asom Gana Parishad got 26 and Bodoland People’s Front got 11 seats in the deal.
The Assam CM reached Delhi on Tuesday to ensure Bordoloi’s induction into BJP. He had a talk with him on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday, Bordoloi met the state BJP chief Dilip Saikia. The CM took him to meet Amit Shah in Parliament.
After joining BJP, Pradyut Bordoloi said, “I am a veteran Congressman, Congress is in my DNA, I stood with Congress during its darkest hour, but of late I was being sidelined, I was insulted and my suggestions on ticket distribution were not heard.”
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra heads the Congress screening committee for Assam. The committee also includes the firebrand MP from Saharanpur, Imran Masood.
When Bordoloi named Imran Masood, the latter hit back saying, “Bordoloi must not forget that he was elected MP from Nagaon, which has more than 65 pc Muslim voters who voted against BJP”.
Bordoloi responded saying, “Imran Masood has a communal outlook, he has a poisonous mind, he insults Vande Mataram, and is supporting those with criminal background in the screening committee meetings.” Bordoloi also said, the party high command, despite knowing facts, is trying to show ignorance.
The Congress leadership tried hard to hold back Bordoloi from leaving the party. Congress in-charge Bhanwar Jitendra Singh and Gaurav Gogoi met him and persuaded him not to leave. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, Pradyut’s unhappiness is saddening, but this was related only to one ticket and the matter could have been discussed.
When Bordoloi joined BJP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “after all, there is something called ideology”.
Assam CM HImanta Biswa Sarma said, Congress may make whatever claims it wants, the fact is Congress has lost its base in Assam. He claimed, the few good leaders that are left in that party, also want to join BJP.
The entry of Pradyut Bordoloi and Bhupen Borah in BJP, is a big success for Himanta Biswa Sarma. Bordoloi won the Lok Sabha election from a constituency which has 65 pc Muslim voters. He won assembly elections four times, and was elected to Lok Sabha twice on Congress ticket.
Naturally, Congress has got a big jolt. Two months ago, the Assam CM had said, “there will be no Hindu leader left in Assam Congress”. The whole world knew what was going to happen, but the Congress leadership did not know what was going on behind the scenes.
Whenever elections take place, Congress leaders desert their party. The party then alleges that BJP is indulging in horsetrading. Congress leaders then claim, such an exit will have no effect on the party’s fortunes. But when election results are out, it becomes clear how the leadership failed.
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