New Delhi: Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma Several senior Congress leaders have set a “timetable” to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, a day after former Assam Congress president Bhupan Bora defected to the ruling party, it was claimed on Monday.Sarma, himself a former Congress MP, added that the opposition parties in Assam would ultimately “leave no Hindus behind”.During a program in Guwahati, he was asked whether more Congress MPs would join the BJP ahead of the assembly elections expected in April.“Now the BJP has no vacancies. If we bring in MLAs now, how will we give them tickets?” Sarma replied.“There is a schedule according to which they (Congress leaders) will participate. Some will join in 2027, some before the 2029 Lok Sabha polls and others before the 2031 Assembly polls. However, one thing is for sure, no Hindu leader will remain in the party,” he said of the Congress party.The Assam Chief Minister further said that the saffron party has almost finalized the list of candidates and the rest of the list will be discussed with allies. He noted that the final list will be announced after consultation with the central leadership of the BJP in Delhi.Bora served as the Assam unit chief of the Congress party from July 2021 to May 2025, and resigned on February 16. He sought time to “rethink” his decision after speaking to Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the party’s former national president. The Congress leadership also rushed to Bora’s residence and tried to persuade him to withdraw his resignation.However, Sarma met Bora the next day and announced that the former state Congress chief would join the BJP, causing a major setback ahead of the assembly elections.Thereafter, Sarma insisted that “several senior Hindu leaders” of the Assam Congress party would switch to the BJP.(with PTI input)
