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4 min readGuwahatiFeb 17, 2026 11:24 PM IST
“Bhuben Borah’s politics is largely among the Assamese community, so he is the last recognized hindu leader in the congress. His joining will completely create a perception, which is a realty too, that congress is no longer a party of Assamese mainstream people,” he said.
A day after he submitted his resignation from the Congress, resulting in party leaders rushing to him to make him change his mind, former Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah has confirmed that he will be joining the BJP.
Borah, who was the president of the state Congress unit till Gaurav Gogoi took charge in June last year, submitted his resignation to the party’s central leadership Monday morning. This had been followed by high drama with Congress leaders including Gogoi; including Jitendra Singh, the AICC general secretary in charge of Assam; Assam Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia; MP Pradyut Bordoloi; and AICC national secretary and Assam co-in-charge, Manoj Chauhan, rushing to his residence to meet him. After meeting him, Jitendra Singh had announced that the party had not accepted his resignation, and Borah told the media that he had sought “some time” to arrive at his final decision.
However, on Tuesday, Borah became more vocal about his grievances against the Congress, specifically alleging that decision-making power within the Assam Congress has been concentrated in the hands of Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain.
“The APCC is now APCC-R, which is difficult for me. I want to be part of APCC, but not APCC-R. It’s like a faction of a party… … Those close to me in the Congress over the years, I have told them that if you want to survive in Congress, don’t be in APCC, you have to be in APCC-R… A lot of people within the Congress are not willing to leave the Congress but are not ready to be a part of APCC-R,” he told reporters during the day, alleging that decisions regarding ticket distribution too are controlled by Hussain.
Borah also accused Hussain of being responsible for the ‘mahajot’ alliance formed by the Congress ahead of the 2021 election with the AIUDF. In particular, he pointed out the party’s decision to field Hussain’s son, Tanzil, for the by-election to the Samaguri assembly constituency in November 2024. The seat had been represented by Hussain for five consecutive terms, until he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2024 from the Dhubri constituency.
The Congress went on to lose the by-election, and the Muslim-majority constituency had been won by the BJP’s Diplu Ranjan Sarmah. Borah said Tuesday that he had wanted to contest from that seat.
“Then Samaguri was vacated, and where was I left? If I was truly the APCC president, if I would have contested the by-election from Samaguri, wouldn’t it have been for the benefit of the party? Many leaders like Debabrata Saikia and Paaban Singh Ghatowar had told me I should contest from the seat,” he said.
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In the evening, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Borah’s home and met him there. It was Sarma who made the announcement on Borah joining the Congress, with Borah seated next to him after the meeting.
“Bhuben Borah’s politics is largely among the Assamese community, so he is the last recognized hindu leader in the congress. His joining will completely create a perception, which is a realty too, that congress is no longer a party of Assamese mainstream people,” he said.
Sarma also stated that the BJP will field Borah in the upcoming election.
Sukrita Baruah is a Principal Correspondent for The Indian Express, based in Guwahati. From this strategic hub, she provides comprehensive, ground-level coverage of India's North East, a region characterized by its complex ethnic diversity, geopolitical significance, and unique developmental challenges. Expertise and Experience Ethnic & Social Dynamics: Deep-dive coverage of regional conflicts (such as the crisis in Manipur) and peace-building efforts. Border & Geopolitics: Tracking developments along India’s international borders and their impact on local communities. Governance & Policy: Reporting on state elections, tribal council decisions, and the implementation of central schemes in the North East. Specialized Education Background: Prior to her current role, Sukrita was a dedicated Education Correspondent for The Indian Express in Delhi. This experience provided her with a sharp analytical lens for: Policy Analysis: Evaluating the National Education Policy (NEP) and university-level reforms. Student Affairs: Covering high-stakes stories regarding campus politics, national entrance exams, and the challenges within the primary and secondary education sectors. ... Read More
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