Churn in Assam Congress: Ripun Bora, Ex-State Party President Quits, Joins Trinamool Congress in Kolkata

Former Assam Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday in Kolkata shortly after he announced his resignation.

The TMC in a tweet welcomed Bora and said. “Delighted to welcome Shri @ripunbora, Former Minister of Panchayat & Rural Development, Minister of Education in Assam, former Rajya Sabha MP & former President of Assam Pradesh Congress committee! He joined us today in the presence of Shri @abhishekaitc.”

The news comes hours after News18 reported that the former Rajya Sabha MP has been made to understand that there is no future in the Congress and right now joining the TMC is the best option. Bora alleged that senior Congress leaders are keeping a close relationship with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

“I am very pained to inform you that it is an open secret in Assam that instead of fighting against BJP, a section of senior-most leaders of Assam PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) have been maintaining secret understanding with BJP government mainly with the Chief Minister,” Bora said in his resignation letter. The former state minister also alleged that some of the Congress party leaders “played role in such a manner which paved the way for the BJP to win both the Rajya Sabha seats” from Assam recently.

Bora also said that instead of being united in fighting the BJP, the Congress leaders at different levels are “fighting each other for their vested interests”. “This has given the BJP ample advantages to grow in every nook and corner in one hand and another, demoralising millions of Congress workers of the country,” Bora stated, and added that the leaders in Assam have been “not an exception”.

“Under this backdrop, my conscience does not allow to continue in Congress party where the party’s interest and ideology are being compromised in favour of BJP for some vested interest of few leaders,” he further wrote.

Meanwhile, CM Himanta Sarma said Bora’s decision was Congress’s internal matter, adding, “one thing is for sure that in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha election, Congress MLAs did not vote for Ripun Bora.”

Bora who was the joint candidate of the opposition in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha election had lost due to cross-voting and fighting between the Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), according to reports.

Bora — a big name in Assam

Bora is the third big leader of Congress from the Northeast after Sushmita Dev and Mukul Sangma who has switched sides to the TMC.

Ripun Bora, a former state minister, is undoubtedly a big name in Assam. After Congress lost the state elections last year, he resigned from the post of the local unit chief, taking moral responsibility. That the Congress is struggling in Assam became all the more evident in the recent Rajya Sabha polls when Ripun Bora lost even after the party fought hard.

The TMC is looking to quickly get a foothold in Assam, and its new party offices are expected to be ready next week. According to sources, Trinamool has its eyes on Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya in the Northeast for now.

(With inputs from Kamalika Sengupta and Niloy Bhattacharjee)

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