Pradyut Bordoloi joins BJP; Assam CM claims all Congress leaders 'with self-respect' to quit soon

New Delhi/Guwahati: In yet another jolt to the Congress ahead of the April 9 Assam Assembly polls, its senior leader and Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi joined the BJP on Wednesday.

A Congress member for more than five decades and the chairman of the manifesto committee for the Assembly polls, Bordoloi claimed that he resigned on Tuesday as he was facing humiliation in the party and was sidelined after he supported Shashi Tharoor's candidature for the party president's post.

A two-term MP from Nagaon and a former four-time MLA, Bordoloi was inducted into the BJP in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other party leaders in the national capital, weeks after former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah switched to the ruling party.

The Congress termed his decision as "unfortunate", while the BJP claimed it reflected the opposition party's weakening base, with Sarma saying that "no self-respecting individual" can remain in the Congress.

"BJP national president Nitin Nabin approved sitting Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi's joining on Tuesday. Our state president Dilip Saikia has welcomed him to the party," Sarma told reporters in Delhi after a brief ceremony where Saikia presented Bordoloi with a stole and party cap.

"Our goal is to bring all good leaders of Congress to the BJP fold. We have to brighten the future of the BJP and Assam both," he said.

Sarma said that the state party leadership will recommend a ticket for Bordoloi for the April 9 assembly polls.

A Congressman since 1975, Bordoloi's joining will strengthen the BJP and help translate into reality Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat, Viksit Assam’, he said.

Bordoloi, who is also a former Assam cabinet minister, had sent his resignation letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday evening.

State Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi and AICC general secretary in-charge of Assam Jitendra Singh had rushed to meet Bordoloi the same evening, but apparently could not convince him to reverse his decision.

Bordoloi’s son Prateek is a Congress nominee from Margherita constituency for the state polls.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is the chairperson of the Screening Committee for candidates for Assam polls, said that Bordoloi's resignation was unfortunate and added that differences over ticket allocation may have led to the decision.

"I think he was upset over ticket allocation, and I wish we had a chance to have a conversation; it is unfortunate," Vadra told reporters inside the Parliament House complex.

Sarma claimed that “no individual with self-respect can any longer stay in the Congress”, with Bordoloi being the latest one to quit the party.

Others, like the leader of opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, and former Assam Congress chief and ex-MP Ripun Bora, will also join the BJP in due course, the CM claimed.

Former state Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah had resigned and joined the BJP in February.

“We want to bring the Congress leaders, who are assets, to the BJP. The process started in 2016, and 99 per cent of it has been completed,” Sarma said.

He also said, "A lot of Muslim leaders also want to join the saffron party, but they cannot due to ideological issues”.

Bordoloi, speaking to reporters, said, “The chief minister’s vision to work for Assam and his positive thinking to take the state forward have drawn me to join the BJP.”

“For the last two years, I have been facing humiliation and feeling isolated within the Congress. While joining the BJP, I have made it clear that I will continue to work with my head held high for the sake of the Assamese people,” he added.

Asked if Bordoloi will be fielded as the BJP candidate in the upcoming assembly polls in Assam, Sarma said the state unit of the party will recommend his name for the election.

“Pradyut Bordoloi is a sitting Congress MP and he still has three years of his tenure left. Since he is himself coming (to the BJP’s fold), quitting as an MP. Obviously, he has to quit as an MP because of the anti-defection law. So, the party has to take care of him,” the Assam chief minister told reporters.

“The Assam BJP will recommend to the central leadership that he should fight the assembly election,” Sarma added

The BJP’s central election committee, headed by party chief Nabin Kumar, is set to meet on Wednesday evening to discuss and decide the party candidates for assembly polls in Assam and Puducherry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister JP Nadda and other senior leaders of the party are members of the committee.

Sarma said another senior Congress leader, Nabajyoti Talukdar, will also join the BJP along with “lots of people” in Guwahati in "two or three days".

Talukdar, a close aide of Bordoloi, had also resigned from the Congress on Tuesday.

“It was important for Pradyut Bordoloi to join (the BJP) today, because we are going to clear our party list of candidates this evening,” the Assam chief minister said, replying to queries.

Bordoloi has been a four-time MLA from Margherita constituency till 2016 and was associated with the state NSUI since his student days.

In the one-line resignation letter addressed to Kharge, Bordoloi said, "With an overwhelming sense of sadness today, I hereby tender my resignation from all posts, privileges and the primary membership of the Indian National Congress."