‘Huge setback for Congress’: Assam BJP chief Dilip Saikia on Pradyut Bordoloi’s switch

Assam BJP president and MP Dilip Saikia on March 18 described Pradyut Bordoloi’s move to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a “huge setback” for the Congress, claiming it signals growing discontent within the party.

Saikia said Bordoloi’s decision carries political weight due to his stature. “Pradyut Bordoloi’s joining the BJP is sending a big message… Such a leader not staying in Congress is a huge setback,” he said, adding that “nobody with self-respect wants to stay with Congress.”

Echoing the sentiment, BJP leader Diganta Kalita said the defection weakens the Congress significantly in the state. “All the big leaders are leaving Congress one by one… Pradyut Bordoloi has also joined the BJP. I welcome him; he did the right thing,” Kalita said, claiming the move had “broken the backbone of the Congress”.

Bordoloi, however, indicated his decision was driven by internal issues within the Congress. He said his resignation followed “multiple issues” and not merely electoral considerations. “For me, getting a ticket was not a question of life and death… What was important for me was to hold my head high,” he told reporters.

Clarifying his position as a sitting MP, Bordoloi added: “I am in my second term in Lok Sabha… I could have accepted the humiliation if I wanted to remain as an MP. But I decided to leave and work.”

Following his resignation, the Congress has fielded his son from the Margherita Assembly constituency for the upcoming polls.

Bordoloi’s departure comes weeks after former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah joined the BJP after decades in the party, underlining a trend of senior leaders switching sides ahead of elections.

According to the Election Commission of India, polling for all 126 Assembly constituencies in Assam will be held in a single phase on April 9, with counting scheduled for May 4.

The election is set to be a direct contest between the BJP-led NDA government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, seeking a third consecutive term, and the Congress, which is aiming to return to power.