Following ex-Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah's switch to BJP, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma hints more defections are on a 'schedule'. Borah cited an 'alarming' situation in Congress, while the opposition claims his exit will cause 'no harm'.
A day after former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah joined the BJP, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday hinted that several other Congress leaders will also switch the party as per the "schedule." Speaking to reporters in Guwahati, CM Sarma noted that several Congress leaders are in line to join the BJP. Assembly polls willl be held in Assam later this year, where the ruling BJP is eying for a third successive term.
More defections 'on schedule', says CM Sarma
"I have a schedule in which Congress leaders will join us, and they will comply with the schedule. It is important for them to join before the 2029 General Elections. For me, all elections are important. BJP has already started preparing for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections," Sarma said.
Borah cites 'alarming' situation in Congress
Bhupen Kumar Borah joined the BJP on Sunday, pointing out that the situation in the Assam Congress is "alarming". Assam Congress suffered a big blow ahead of the elections after its former president switched to the ruling BJP, ending his three-decade-old ties with the party.
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Borah highlighted incidents where the Congress leaders had allegedly labelled people who died in the Assam movement as "dacoits", and recently demanded reservation for Muslims in the state assembly. Borah said, "I gave 32 years and had a very deep-rooted family connection with Congress. But the present-day situation of Congress in Assam is alarming. Those concerned about the state can no longer be with the Congress. I'll give an example I wrote in my resignation letter. A Congress MLA, Sherman Ali, called all the martyrs of the Assam movement dacoits; I immediately expelled him."
"Another Congress MLA in Assam said all priests are rapists; now his name is recommended for the assembly election in Jaleshwar. Another Congress spokesperson said when Congress comes to power under the leadership of Gaurav Gogoi, 45 assembly seats will be reserved for Muslims," he added.
'Will not cause any harm': Congress downplays exit
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia said that Borah's move "will not cause any harm" to the party.
Speaking to ANI, Saikia claimed that the people from where Borah was preparing to contest are also not with him. "It will not cause any harm because the leaders and workers of his constituency, from where he had been preparing to contest for the last three years, did not decide to go with him. They said that even if he leaves, we will remain in Congress. Therefore, we will not suffer any harm," Saikia said. (ANI)
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