New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): Congress Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi on Tuesday tendered his resignation to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) President Mallikarjun Kharge and ended his lifelong association with the Congress party amid allegations of internal mistreatment.
Ahead of the Assam Assembly election, Bordoloi joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) today in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Assam BJP President Dilip Saikia.
“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, ” his resignation letter reads.
While speaking to the reporters on Tuesday, Pradyut Bordoloi said, “Today, I have abandoned one of the most important principles of my life, and I am not happy with it. However, I made this decision because I was being insulted on many issues by anyone who approached me from within the Congress Party, especially in the Assam Congress. Even the Congress leadership was not showing sympathy towards me. I have become very lonely because I have been associated with the Congress all my life. But of late, I have been having a lot of difficulty surviving, so I have to make this decision. Yes, I have submitted this resignation letter to the AICC President.”
After joining the BJP, Pradyut Bordoloi said his decision was driven by persistent internal humiliation and a lack of support from the party leadership.
Referring to a specific Assam Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, he said he felt hurt after Congress leader Imran Masood dismissed his allegations against a candidate, whom he accused of running a criminal nexus, as “fabricated.”
Masood, who represents Saharanpur in the Lok Sabha, is a part of Congress’s screening committee for the upcoming Assam elections.
Speaking to ANI, Bordoloi explained his departure, “There is no one reason. I was feeling suffocated, and I was being humiliated”.
“I came to know that a communal leader like Imraan 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. Imran Masood, in the presence of the party’s top leadership, had the audacity to say that all that Pradyut Bordoloi said was fabricated. The APCC president present there remained silent. This hurt me a lot,” said Bordoloi.
Following the resignation of his party MP, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Gaurav Gogoi called it an “unfortunate decision” and said that the 2026 assembly election is about “freeing Assam from the clutches of Himanta Biswa Sarma”.
He said that the Congress offered an opportunity to his family member to contest the Vidhan Sabha elections, but he made a decision that is his personal decision.
Speaking to reporters in the national capital, Gogoi said, “It is an unfortunate decision. Just two years ago, the Congress Party offered him the opportunity to contest the Lok Sabha ticket from Nagaon. He’s a sitting member of parliament, the people of Nagaon voted for him, and in this present election, the Congress Party offered an opportunity to a member of his family to contest the Vidhan Sabha elections. So the family at the same time got the opportunity to represent the Lok Sabha and has got the opportunity to represent the Vidhan Sabha. Despite that, he made a decision which is his personal decision.”
He added that this assembly election is about “freeing Assam from the clutches of Himanta Biswa Sarma.”
“This election is much more important than one person. This election is about freeing Assam from the clutches of Himanta Biswa Sarma. Freeing Assam from Himanta Biswa Sarma’s politics of fear and intimidation. Freeing Assam from the Mafiaraj that has crept during Himanta Biswa Sarma’s tenure. So, people of Assam want to see an Assam without Himanta Biswa Sarma as the Chief Minister. We have got tremendous support. We are confident of forming the government,” he added.
Gogoi said he doesn’t think that a difference of opinion over one seat is a reason to leave a party.
“There are always differences inside a party. We have all faced differences and had strong opinions. I don’t think that a difference of opinion over one seat is the reason to leave a party and join the rival. Just two days ago, I was in the Lakhimpur district, which is the district in which Bhupen Bora is currently seeking a ticket from the BJP,” he added.
Assam Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia also criticised Bordoloi’s move, calling it “very unfortunate” and alleging that he had joined a “communal force.”
“It is very unfortunate that he has resigned and joined a communal force, the BJP… He should not have taken such a step at this time… Unfortunately, a person who got everything due to Congress’s ideology and believed in it from his student life has now deserted the party…” he said.
Meanwhile, Assam Congress in-charge Bhanwar Jitendra Singh said the resignation would not impact the party and that new leaders would fill the gap.
“It is unfortunate that Pradyut Bordoloi has resigned. But this will not harm the Congress party. His place will be filled by young leaders who are joining the party. There is no doubt that the position Bordoloi ji achieved was due to Congress. Only he can tell why he has joined the BJP. These could be tall leaders, but the party’s campaign is run by the party workers on the ground level. We will try to decide on the remaining 40 tickets today,” he said.
On the other hand, BJP leaders welcomed Bordoloi’s induction, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserting that more opposition leaders are likely to join the ruling party in the coming days. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey termed the development a “major setback” for the Congress.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted that other leaders from the opposition party will also join the ruling party in the coming days.
The Assam CM said more leaders, including Navajyoti Talukdar, who resigned as the Congress’ state unit vice president, will join the BJP in Guwahati soon. “There are a lot of people like Navajyoti Talukdar and others who will join (the BJP) in Guwahati. We are going to clear our party list for candidates this evening. Other people will join in the next two to three days in Assam itself,” he added.
Attacking the Congress, saying it was “on the way to its end” as the opposition party, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also added that a major setback in Assam as its senior leader Pradyut Bordoloi resigned and joined the ruling party in the state.
“Is anything left in the Congress? Congress is on the way to its end. It won’t be a big thing if Gaurav Gogoi resigns from the party tomorrow,” Dubey told reporters.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, meanwhile, said “Vichaar-dhara bhi kuch hoti hai,” emphasising that a party’s political ideology should be considered while making any such decision.
Bordoloi’s resignation comes a month after former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, who served the party for three decades, joined the BJP.
Elections in Assam for all 126 Assembly constituencies will be held in a single phase on April 9, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
Assam will witness a fight between the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and Congress for the 126-seat assembly. The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will look to secure a third consecutive term, while the Congress aims to defeat the ruling party to return to power. (ANI)