Bhupen Borah has always been BJP’s agent:  AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam

Political tensions escalated in Assam on February 18 after All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Aminul Islam accused former state Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah of working in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party, following Borah’s resignation from the Congress.

Islam alleged that Borah had long been aligned with the BJP and claimed his exit from the party was not unexpected. “Bhupen Kumar Borah has always been the BJP’s agent. For the past two years, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has been saying that Borah is joining the BJP, and he has set a deadline as well,” Islam said.

He further alleged that Borah, even while serving as state president, “worked under the BJP’s dictates”, adding that the presence of such leaders within Congress would prevent the party from returning to power in Assam.

The remarks came a day after Chief Minister Sarma met Borah, a meeting that intensified speculation of a possible political shift ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. The interaction followed Borah’s resignation from the Congress, submitted on February 17 to party president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Borah had earlier stated that he would reconsider his decision if senior leaders Pradyut Bordoloi and Debabrata Saikia assured him that the state unit was functioning in its “true spirit”.

“Right now, I am not a member of any political party. I have asked the Congress’s central and state leadership to speak with our two leaders, Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi and Debabrata Saikia. They can collectively tell me on the same call to withdraw my resignation, and that it will remain APCC rather than become APCCR,” Borah said. He added, “The Congress I joined is no longer the APCC. It had become APCCR. Whenever the two of them call, I will withdraw my resignation right then.”

Hours after the resignation letter was sent, the All India Congress Committee’s Assam in-charge, Jitendra Singh, claimed the matter had been resolved. He said Borah had “withdrawn” his resignation following discussions with the party’s central leadership.

“Senior Congress leader Bhupen Borah is an important member of the Congress family. He had sent his resignation to our party’s national president. Sometimes, differences arise within the Congress family,” Singh said.

He added that the Congress president had not accepted the resignation and that senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, held a detailed conversation with Borah to resolve the issue through dialogue.

The sequence of events has deepened uncertainty within the Assam Congress unit at a politically sensitive time, with opposition parties questioning the stability of its leadership structure ahead of the state elections.