Over 150 Congress leaders quit in Karbi Anglong, likely to join BJP ahead of 2026 polls

In a major setback for the Karbi Anglong Congress ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, more than 150 leaders and workers from East Karbi Anglong resigned en masse on December 4, Thursday, citing a “complete loss of confidence” in the district party president and the current leadership.

The dramatic walkout unfolded at the KASA Stadium in Diphu, where the disgruntled members gathered, raised anti-leadership slogans, and then marched in a protest procession to the District Congress Office to submit their collective resignations.

The group of defectors includes office-bearers and active workers from the district committee, block committees, mandal committees, and primary units, spanning almost every tier of the Congress structure in the hill district.

Sources close to the development confirmed that the entire group is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the coming days, a move expected to significantly strengthen the saffron party in the politically sensitive autonomous council region.

This marks the second large-scale exodus from the Congress in Karbi Anglong within weeks, following a similar wave of resignations in the West Karbi Anglong unit earlier.

Political observers say the back-to-back rebellions in both districts indicate deep internal discontent and an organisational crisis within the Congress in a region that has historically been a party stronghold but now appears to be drifting towards the BJP.

With only months left for the Assembly elections, the Congress high command in Guwahati has remained largely silent, while some local leaders have dismissed the rebels, reportedly saying they had only “come to show their faces.”

The series of desertions has triggered speculation that the Congress may be headed for one of its worst performances in the Sixth Schedule areas in the upcoming polls.