Guwahati: Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday criticised leaders who have left the party for the BJP, saying they have lost relevance in the political landscape.
Speaking at a press conference, Gogoi suggested that former state Congress chief Bhupen Borah, who is expected to join the BJP on February 22, will face a similar decline.
“Those who moved to the BJP have become politically insignificant. We’ve seen it with leaders like Sarbananda Sonowal and others. Even the AGP, Sonowal’s former party, is on the brink of disappearance. Bhupen Borah’s shift won’t change that,” Gogoi said.
He added that the upcoming Assembly elections will see a contest between the “real Congress” and the BJP, which he described as being dominated by former Congress leaders who were part of what he called the party’s corrupt 15-year rule in Assam.
Targeting Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Gogoi called Borah the “last Hindu leader” in Congress and accused the BJP of issuing “Hindu certificates” to politicians, dubbing Sarma “Assam’s Jinnah” in a veiled critique.
“The Congress is like an ocean, and each of us is just a drop in it. The party existed long before our generation, and Borah leaving won’t affect our prospects in the Assembly elections,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Bhupen Borah defended his decision to leave Congress, claiming the state unit is no longer fully under Gogoi’s leadership. Speaking in an interview, he said Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain has become “the sole base” of the party in Assam, and Gogoi now serves mainly as “the face of the party.”
Borah added that after submitting his resignation to the Congress high command on Monday, he spoke with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who discussed their long association since 2007 but did not address the resignation itself.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed that Borah will officially join the BJP on February 22, following a meeting at Sarma’s residence on Tuesday evening.