Three Congress MLAs Join BJP Ahead Of Assembly Polls In Assam

Guwahati: Three Congress MLAs close to Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday – Kamalakhya Dey Purakayastha, Sashikanta Das and Basanta Das – formally joined the ruling BJP in Assam along with two other leaders ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

They were inducted into the party by state BJP president Dilip Saikia in the presence of union minister Pabitra Margherita at an event held at the BJP headquarters. While Mr. Purakayastha represents Karimganj (North) constituency, Mr. Sashikanta Das and Mr. Basanta Das are MLAs from Raha and Mangaldoi (SC) respectively.

The three MLAs, known for their closeness to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had openly supported the BJP in the last few years. Mr. Sashikanta Das had announced his support for the ruling party’s 2021 policies.

The Congress had earlier suffered a setback when Bhupen Borah joined the BJP on February 22. Last month, two other MLAs – Abdul Rashid Mondal and Sherman Ali Ahmed – switched to Raijor Dal.

Mr Mondal and Mr Ahmed are three-time legislators from Goalpara (West) and Baghbar constituencies respectively.

The other two leaders who joined the BJP are former Congress joint secretary Parsha Bob Kalita and former Trinamool Congress general secretary Kangkan Nath.

The development came soon after former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah joined the saffron party.

Elections to the 126-member Assam assembly are expected to be held in April.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in his reaction to three Congress MLAs joining the BJP, said it reflects the growing popularity of the BJP in the state. He said many more Congress leaders will join the BJP in the run-up to the assembly elections in the state.