In a significant political development ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam, three legislators from the Indian National Congress joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, delivering another setback to the opposition camp.
The MLAs — Kamalakhya De Purkayastha, Sashikanta Das and Basanta Das — were formally inducted into the BJP by the party’s Assam state president Dilip Saikia. The induction took place in the presence of Union minister Pabitra Margherita during a party function.
Purkayastha represents the Karimganj North Assembly constituency, while Sashikanta Das and Basanta Das are sitting MLAs from the Raha Assembly constituency and Mangaldoi Assembly constituency (SC), respectively.
Along with the three legislators, two other political leaders also joined the BJP during the event. They include former Congress joint secretary Parsha Bob Kalita and former state general secretary of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) Kangkan Nath.
Party leaders said the new entrants were welcomed into the BJP fold as the party continues to strengthen its organisational base ahead of the Assembly elections.
Congress faces fresh setbacks
The latest defections come shortly after former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah joined the BJP last month, further weakening the Congress ahead of the polls.
Political observers note that the three MLAs who switched sides are considered close to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and had been openly supportive of the ruling party’s policies for some time. Notably, Sashikanta Das had publicly expressed support for several BJP policies as early as 2021.
The Congress has also suffered additional setbacks recently, with two of its legislators — Abdul Rashid Mondal and Sherman Ali Ahmed — leaving the party last month to join the Raijor Dal.
Mondal is a three-time MLA from the Goalpara West Assembly constituency, while Ahmed represents the Baghbar Assembly constituency. Elections to the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly are expected to be held in April.
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