3 suspended Congress MLAs join BJP ahead of Assam Assembly elections
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Guwahati: Three suspended Congress MLAs – Kamalakhya De Purakayastha, Sashikanta Das, and Basanta Das – formally joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, along with two others, ahead of the Assam assembly elections. The induction was conducted by state BJP president Dilip Saikia in the presence of Union minister Pabitra Margherita at a function in Guwahati. The other two entrants are former Congress joint secretary Parsha Bob Kalita and former Trinamool Congress general secretary Kangkan Nath.
This development follows the recent joining of former Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah to the BJP. Elections for the 126-member Assam Assembly are expected in April. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the three MLAs had been supporting his government in the legislative assembly for the past two years and welcomed their formal entry into the BJP. On the question of election tickets, Sarma said the matter had not been discussed yet, adding that the party’s state election committee would consider it, with the Central Parliamentary Board making the final decision. He emphasised that the MLAs had joined the BJP unconditionally and added, “There is nothing like new or old members… we are all the same within the party.” Sarma also noted that the three MLAs had openly supported the BJP during the last Lok Sabha elections.
Purakayastha represents Karimganj (North), Sashikanta Das represents Raha, and Basanta Das is from Mangaldoi (SC). The Congress party has faced further setbacks, with Abdul Rashid Mondal and Sherman Ali Ahmed switching to Raijor Dal last month. Both are three-time legislators from Goalpara (West) and Baghbar, respectively.
The Congress has announced its first list of 42 seats, while the ruling BJP and its allies – AGP, BPF, and UPPL – are yet to finalise seat-sharing arrangements. The Congress is leading the unified opposition alliance, the Asom Sonmilito Morcha, and has seat-sharing agreements with the Assam Jatiya Parishad and the Left parties, though final arrangements with the Raijor Dal are still pending. In the 126-member Assam assembly, the opposition consists of Congress with 26 members, AIUDF 15, CPI(M) 1, and one independent MLA, while the ruling NDA has 64 from the BJP, with allies AGP 9, UPPL 7, and BPF 3.
With PTI inputs