GUWAHATI:
In what can be seen as a big development in Assam politics, as many as 18 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including 100 of its workers, quit the party to join the Congress in Guwahati on January 23.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah, MP Pradyut Bordoloi, and Congress Legislative Party leader Debabrata Saikia welcomed the leaders into the party fold at Rajiv Bhawan, Guwahati.
Of the 18 new inductees, 13 are from Nazira, Sibsagar, and others are from Palasbari, Kamrup district and Guwahati.
Soon after the induction, the Indian National Congress took to a popular microblogging website and wrote, “More than 100 workers & leaders from BJP joined @INCIndia today at Guwahati Rajiv Bhawan, in presence of APCC President Shri @BhupenKBorah, ACLP Leader Shri @DsaikiaOfficial, MP Shri @pradyutbordoloi and many senior leaders (sic).”
Borah stated that the switchover was a result of the unhappiness of the party workers with the work of the current BJP government in Assam. The names of the 18 new Congress inductees are Dilip Kumar Hazarika, Achinta Saikia, Ujjal Hazarika, Abdul Tarik, Basiur Rahman, Upen Borgohain, Mintu Bhagowati, Pankaj Gogoi, Purna Das, Zulfiqar Ali, Imtiyaz Ahmed, Dwijoy Das, Gunjan Dutta, Mun Chowdhury, Mukut Kalita, Biswajit Chowdhury, Ramen Das and Deep Kalita.