Three Suspended Assam Congress MLAs Join BJP Ahead of Elections

Political Shift in Assam

On Saturday, three suspended legislators from the Assam Congress—Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Basant Das, and Shashi Kant Das—officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party's state headquarters in Guwahati, in the presence of state party president Dilip Saikia. This move poses challenges for the Congress party, especially following the recent defection of former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah to the ruling party.

Union Minister of State (MoS) Pabitra Margherita informed a news agency that leaders and officials from other parties, particularly Congress, are aligning with the BJP, demonstrating their support for the party's ideology. Margherita further commented that the list of 42 candidates released by Congress for the upcoming elections lacks freshness.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) announced its list of candidates for the Assam assembly elections on Tuesday. Margherita pointed out that nearly 20 of the candidates on Congress's list had been rejected by the public in previous elections, indicating a lack of concern from their side. Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma criticized Congress's candidate list, labeling it as 'dynastic' and praised the BJP for its emphasis on grassroots workers.

While addressing reporters, Chief Minister Sarma remarked that although it could be termed a list, he would refer to it as a dynastic list. In contrast, the BJP's list will feature grassroots workers. The party is fully prepared for the upcoming elections. According to an official statement, the list includes prominent candidates such as Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi (Jorhat), Bitupan Saikia (Golaghat), Abdus Sobahan Ali Sarkar from Gauripur, Markline Marak from Golpara West (ST), Girish Barua from Bongaigaon, Mahananda Sarkar from Barpeta (SC), and Ramen Singh Rabha from Boko-Chaygaon (ST).