GUWAHATI:
Assam Trinamool Congress (ATC) chief, Ripun Bora, on April 25, said that today, Congress party is out the people’s hearts and that is why Trinamool will rise in the state.
“There is a disconnect between the leadership of the Congress party and the people. Not just in Assam, the Congress is losing its relevance everywhere in the country. Congress party is now out the people’s hearts and that is why Trinamool will rise,” he said, after arriving in Guwahati for the first since being appointed as the president of Assam Trinamool Congress Committee (ATCC) on April 23.
Bora, who quit the Congress to join the Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) on April 17, said that the stage is set for the AITC to become the principal opposition party in Assam and an alternative to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in state.
“I do not want to remember the things we have done or not done in the past. Now we will assemble under the banner of the Assam Trinamool Congress. We are gaining ground in the state. We will soon emerge as the principal opposition party and an alternative to BJP,” Bora, who arrived at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport from New Delhi on Monday, said.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of workers and supporters of the party converged at the airport to welcome the newly appointed chief of ATCC. A bike rally too was taken out from the airport to welcome Bora for joining the AITC.
“After I joined the AITC and took over as Assam ATCC chief, this is the first time I am in Guwahati. I am delighted with the gathering of supporters of the party who came here from various parts of the state to welcome me,” Bora said, adding that he is confident the people of Assam will receive the party well and soon it will become the only opposition party in Assam.
Bora said that his focus from now on will be to raise the party in Assam. “I assure you that AITC will form governments in Tripura in 2023 and Assam in 2026. And what I have to do now, is to raise the party by bringing all caste, community and tribes of the state together. We are committed to the welfare of the Assamese people,” he said.
The veteran leader also hinted on a mass exodus of leaders from his previous party to the AITC. “More people are joining the Trinamool and on April 27 there will be a mass joining programme of Trinamool congress at Housing Bihutoli at Rukmini Gaon, Guwahati,” he said.