GUWAHATI: The Dispur constituency in Guwahati braces for a clash of turncoats when Assam goes to the polls on April 9.
Pradyut Bordoloi of the ruling BJP, Mira Borthakur Goswami of the Congress and independent candidate Jayanta Kumar Das are pitted against one another in the seat.
Bordoloi spent nearly four decades in the Congress before falling out with its state leadership.
His nomination as a BJP candidate was no less dramatic; he had resigned from the Congress one evening, joined the BJP the next morning and was fielded the day after.
At least two BJP ticket aspirants – party MLA in the seat Atul Bora and the seasoned worker Das – were hit by Bordoloi’s surprise candidacy in the seat. Bora took it easy, at least on record, but Das spoke his heart out, launching a scathing attack on the BJP leadership, particularly Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and state president Dilip Saikia
“Because of CongBJP, I had been under tremendous mental stress for a long time. I am feeling better now,” he said on Monday. By saying “CongBJP,” he referred to the Congress turncoats in the BJP.
The BJP in Assam has several former Congress leaders, including Sarma, ministers Jayanta Malla Baruah, Pijush Hazarika, former state Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah, besides Bordoloi.
While Goswami is the Congress candidate, Das viewed Bordoloi as from the Congress, given his past in the Congress.
“God has given me the responsibility to resist both, and work for the state and community,” he said.
He announced that he would float a political party and name it, “Trinamool BJP” to stay connected to his political roots.
He had served the BJP for 35 years, albeit with a one-year break during which he spent six months in the regional Asom Gana Parishad and remained apolitical for another six months.
“I am clear in my mind that I will form Trinamool BJP. I am getting support from people. They loved the nomenclature ‘Trinamool BJP’ as it carries originality,” Das said, clarifying that his intention was not to weaken the BJP nor could he ever weaken it.
He further stated that he had secretly gone out to file his nomination on Monday. “I was not sure who would do what and where. I did not have the belief about reaching the District Commissioner’s office on time,” said Das, who on Sunday alleged receiving threats from unknown people.
Meanwhile, the firebrand leader Goswami, who left the BJP in 2018, was confident the Dispur voters would reject Bordoloi.
“If a person can abandon his own people like this, how is he going to stand for the people of Dispur?” she asked. “Shifting allegiance from one party to another is not unusual, but such a decision takes time, thought, and conviction, as was the case with me,” she added.
Bordoloi is pinning hopes on the BJP’s organisational strength. “We have a limited time for the campaign. We will go and try to connect with the voters of Dispur. I hope they will accept me,” he said.
He quit the Congress after facing insults for two years, during which he felt 'ignored and lonely'.