Guwahati: Rakibul Hussain, Congress MP, has strongly criticised Pradyut Bordoloi following his decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying the move raises serious questions about loyalty. Bordoloi joined the BJP in New Delhi on March 18 in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and state party president Dilip Saikia, a day after resigning from the Indian National Congress. His exit leaves Congress with only two of its three sitting MPs from Assam. Reacting sharply, Hussain said the Congress had built Bordoloi’s political career from the ground up. “He did not have a strong base earlier — we brought him in and helped him become an MP,” he said, recalling Bordoloi’s earlier criticism of Sarma within the party.
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Hussain also pointed out that Bordoloi had chaired the Congress Manifesto Committee and prepared a detailed chargesheet against the Assam government, which was released by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. “That document strongly targeted the government, but now he appears to be siding with them,” he remarked. He further noted that despite losing an earlier election, Bordoloi was given another opportunity by the party. “This should not be forgotten,” he added.
While Priyanka Gandhi termed the defection “unfortunate” and linked it to dissatisfaction over ticket distribution, Hussain was more direct, stating that many denied tickets did not leave the party. Bordoloi’s switch marks the second major defection from Congress in Assam in recent weeks, following the exit of former state president Bhupen Kumar Borah, intensifying concerns over leadership erosion ahead of the polls.
