Lok Sabha MP from Assam’s Nagaon, Pradyut Bordoloi, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday, a day after resigning from the Indian National Congress, alleging “suffocation” and “humiliation” within the party.
Bordoloi was inducted into the BJP at a ceremony in New Delhi in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, state BJP president Dilip Saikia, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, and other senior leaders, signalling a high-profile political shift in the state.
The development comes shortly after Bordoloi tendered his resignation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, bringing an end to his long-standing association with the party. In his letter, he wrote: “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.”
Confirming the induction, Sarma said: “Today the sitting Congress MP has joined BJP. As you know, Pradyut Bordoloi is a senior MP. His joining BJP will definitely strengthen BJP.” He added that the party’s national leadership had cleared Bordoloi’s entry a day earlier and pointed out that the MP still has three years left in his current Lok Sabha term, making his switch politically significant.
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Speaking after joining the BJP, Bordoloi said his decision stemmed from a growing sense of alienation within the Congress. “There is no one reason. I was feeling suffocated, and I was being humiliated,” he said, indicating that internal disagreements and lack of support had reached a breaking point.
Referring to a meeting of the Assam Congress Election Committee held on 13 March, Bordoloi alleged that his concerns were dismissed by party leaders. “I came to know that a communal leader like Imran Masood said that everything I was talking about and saying about a candidate against whom I had given evidence of a criminal nexus was false and fabricated,” he said.
He further claimed that the remarks were made in the presence of the party’s top leadership and that the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee chief present at the meeting did not intervene. “This hurt me a lot,” Bordoloi added, underscoring the personal and political reasons behind his exit.
Bordoloi’s defection is expected to have implications for Assam’s political landscape, particularly in Nagaon and adjoining constituencies, where he has maintained a strong organisational base. His move is also seen as a boost for the BJP as it consolidates its position in the state ahead of future electoral contests, while dealing a setback to the Congress in the region.
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