• Source:JND

Assam Election 2026: Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Nagaon in Assam, Pradyut Bordoloi, on Wednesday (March 18) joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a major setback to the grand old party just ahead of the upcoming Assam Assembly Election 2026. Bordoloi on Tuesday (March 17) tendered his resignation from the primary membership of the Congress.

"For me, getting a ticket was not a question of life and death. There were multiple issues. What was important for me was to hold my head high. The Congress party has given me a lot. I want to make it very clear that I am in my second term in Lok Sabha, and there are another three years to go. I could have accepted the humiliation if I wanted to remain as an MP. But I decided to leave and work," Bordoloi said after joining the BJP.

Bordoloi, in his resignation letter to Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, alleged "internal mistreatment", saying that he has been "insulted on many issues." "With an overwhelming sense of sadness today, I hereby tender my resignation from all posts, privileges and the primary membership of the Indian National Congress," he said.

Pradyut Bordoloi accused the party leadership of sidelining him, which led to the end of his lifelong association with the Congress. "Today, I have abandoned one of the most important principles of my life, and I am not happy with it," Bordoloi said after resigning.

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"However, I made this decision because I was being insulted on many issues by anyone who approached me from within the Congress Party, especially in the Assam Congress. Even the Congress leadership was not showing sympathy towards me. I have become very lonely because I have been associated with the Congress all my life," the two-time MP from Nagaon added.

Assam Election 2026: Himanta Biswa Sarma Welcomes Pradyut Bordoloi

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma welcomed Pradyut Bordoloi and said that his presence will strengthen the BJP in the upcoming Assam Assembly elections. Himanta Biswa Sarma further said that he will recommend Bordoloi's name to the central leadership to field him in the upcoming Assam Assembly Election 2026.

"Sitting MP from Nagaon, Pradyut Bordoloi has joined the BJP. His history with the Congress party goes back to 1975; his joining the BJP will strengthen the BJP. We all welcome him to our party. Assam Pradesh BJP will recommend to the central leadership that he should fight the assembly elections. There is no reason for someone with self-respect to stay with the Congress party. We aim to bring more Congress leaders into the party," Sarma said.

"There are a lot of people like Navajyoti Talukdar and others who will join (the BJP) in Guwahati. We are going to clear our party list for candidates this evening. Other people will join in the next two to three days in Assam itself. I don't want to comment on individuals because who Imran Masood is, it will take time for me to Google and find out," Sarma added.

Assam Election 2026: Congress Calls Resignation 'Unfortunate'

Wayanad MP and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi addressed the issue of Bordoloi's resignation and termed it "very unfortunate". Priyanka Gandhi said that Bordoloi was apparently upset over ticket distribution on one seat, adding that he should have had a conversation with the party leadership before taking this step.

"It is very unfortunate. I think he was upset over one ticket allocation, and we wish we had a chance to have a conversation about it," she said.

Congress MP Imran Masood stated that the party would try to persuade Bordoloi to reconsider his decision. "It is unfortunate that he had won from a seat having a 65 per cent Muslim population. You have won with votes against the BJP. Compromising with the ideology is not the right thing to do. We will try to persuade him," Masood said.

Assam Election 2026: Was Imran Masood Behind Pradyut Bordoloi's Resignation?

A primary reason that appears to have prompted the resignation of Pradyut Bordoloi was another senior Congress leader and Saharanpur MP Imran Masood. Bordoloi referred to a key Assam Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, held on March 13, which was also attended by Imran Masood and said that it was the triggering point.

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Bordoloi alleged that he had flagged a criminal nexus of a leader whom the party has given a ticket for the Assam Assembly Election 2026. However, he said that in the CEC meeting, "communal leader" Imran Masood dismissed his allegations, terming them false and fabricated.

"On 13th March, the Assam CEC meeting was held. I came to know that a communal leader like Imraan Masood said that everything I was talking about and saying about a candidate against whom I had given evidence of a criminal nexus was false and fabricated," Bordoloi said.

"Imran Masood, in the presence of the party's top leadership, had the audacity to say that all that Pradyut Bordoloi said was fabricated. The APCC president present there remained silent. This hurt me a lot," he said.

According to a report by the Indian Express, Bordoloi even wrote a letter to Assam Congress Chief Jitendra Singh, complaining about the alleged "humiliation" during the CEC meeting. In his letter, Bordoloi raised concerns over Congress MLA from Laharighat, Asif Nazar's support for an individual who was earlier arrested for attacking him.

Assam Election 2026: Imran Masood Dismisses Allegations

However, the allegations were quickly dismissed by Imran Masood, who said that the ticket distribution was never in his hands and he was only given the responsibility to gather information and submit a ground-level report.

"I simply cannot understand why these accusations are being made against me. I didn't even hold the seat they are referring to. Our role was never to handle ticket distribution; our responsibility was only to gather and submit ground-level reports, and that is exactly what we did," Imran Masood said over the controversy.

"The final decision rests with the party. In the heat of a political battle, it is the brave who step forward to fight on the front lines. I intend to speak with Nabajyoti personally, as I genuinely do not know why he chose to level these allegations," Masood added.

Besides Pradyut Bordoloi, Congress's state unit vice president Navajyoti Talukdar also resigned from the primary membership of the party. Bordoloi's resignation comes a month after former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah joined the BJP, who served in the party for three decades.

Assam Election 2026

The election to 126 Assembly constituencies in Assam will take place in a single phase on April 9, and the results will be announced on May 4, along with three other states, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and one Union Territory, Puducherry.

ALSO READ: Assam Assembly Election 2026 Date: Voting To Be Held On April 9; Check Schedule, Result Dates

Assam will witness a fight between the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and Congress for the 126-seat assembly. The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will seek a third consecutive term, while the Congress aims to defeat the ruling party and return to power.


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