GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday announced that former state Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah, who recently resigned from the party, will join the ruling BJP on February 22.
The CM made the announcement while speaking to reporters after a meeting with Borah at his residence in Guwahati, ending days of speculations regarding whether the former Congress leader would withdraw his resignation.
Himanta also claimed that many other Congress leaders would joing BJP on the same day.
Flanked by Borah, Himanta told reporters, "I am happy to inform you that Bhupen Borah will formally join the BJP on February 22. Along with him, a good number of Congress leaders will join the BJP in Guwahati and Lakhimpur."
Calling Borah the "last recognised Hindu leader in the Congress," Himanta said he would be given all sorts of respect and dignity in the saffron party. He added that joining the BJP would feel like "homecoming" for Borah, as he will get to work with several of his former colleagues.
"I have not discussed political matters with him today but we want him to contest from a safe seat from the BJP's perspective. I will sit with him tomorrow for a discussion,” the Chief Minister said.
Himanta also targeted the Congress and alleged that it is no longer a political party of "mainstream Assamese" people as it is left with very few Hindu leaders.
"When a leader leaves a party after serving it for 32 years, the party should address the reasons. The problem with Congress is that it does not address issues," he alleged.
Himanta, who quit Congress and joined the BJP in 2015, had come into the grand old party around the same time as Borah in the early 1990s.
Borah, who had resigned from the party on Monday, later said that he would reconsider the decision after talks with senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi.
Borah said he was upset over the manner in which the party worked in Assam.
"I have apprised the central leadership that if the party is led this way, its future will be uncertain. Everybody, including our alliance partners, knows what is happening in the party and how it is being led," he had said.