Guwahati, March 5: Three suspended legislators of the Indian National Congress — Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Basant Das and Sashi Kanta Das — formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Guwahati on Thursday, marking a fresh political setback for the Congress ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
The three leaders were inducted into the BJP at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan in the presence of state BJP president Dilip Saikia.
After joining the party, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha said the decision was taken with the aim of ensuring the security and development of both Assam and the country. He stated that the three legislators had joined the BJP to work in line with its policies and contribute to advancing the progress of the state and the nation. Purkayastha also criticised the Congress, alleging that the party’s politics of appeasement had weakened its organisational strength and warning that if it failed to change its ideology in the future, it could become “hollow.”
Basant Das said his move was influenced by the development initiatives carried out under the leadership of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He noted that his constituency had witnessed considerable development under the current government and said he joined the BJP to work for the progress of Assam and the country under Sarma’s leadership.
Sashi Kanta Das said he was motivated to join the BJP after observing Sarma’s efforts to bring people together in Assam. He also remarked that the Congress was no longer the same organisation it had been during the time of Mahatma Gandhi, when it was formed to fight British rule. Referring to allegations surrounding Gaurav Gogoi and his alleged Pakistan links, Das claimed that the Congress might struggle even to secure enough seats to qualify as the opposition in the forthcoming elections and predicted that the BJP would return to power in Assam.
The development comes amid growing political activity in the state ahead of the Assembly polls. The All India Congress Committee recently released its first list of 42 candidates for the elections. Responding to criticism over the selections, Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah said the candidates had been chosen carefully and expressed confidence that the party would perform strongly in the polls.
Earlier, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had criticised the Congress candidate list, alleging that it contained a large number of “dynastic candidates,” while the Congress leadership maintained that the list included experienced politicians and grassroots leaders.
The defection of three sitting legislators is expected to further intensify the political contest in Assam as parties consolidate their positions ahead of the Assembly elections.
