New Delhi [India], March 18 : Ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday welcomed sitting Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi, a Congress veteran since 1975, into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that other leaders from the opposition party will also join the ruling party in the coming days.
Speaking to the reporters here, the Assam CM said more leaders, including Navajyoti Talukdar, who resigned as the Congress' state unit vice president, will join the BJP in Guwahati soon.
Speaking to the reporters, CM 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."
"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," he added.
Sarma's remarks came after Assam MP Pradyut Bordoloi joined the ruling BJP days ahead of the single-phase assembly polls scheduled to be held on April 9.
Meanwhile, Pradyut Bordoloi accused the Congress leadership of sidelining him, which led to the end of his lifelong association with the party amid allegations of internal mistreatment.
He clarified that the resignation stemmed from "multiple issues" as opposed to a singular ticket allocation for the upcoming Assam assembly elections.
"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," he told the media.
"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," he added.
Following Bordoloi's resignation, Congress has fielded his son from the Margherita assembly constituency for the upcoming polls.
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.
Elections in Assam for all 126 Assembly constituencies will be held in a single phase on April 9, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, the Election Commission of India announced on Sunday.
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 look to secure a third consecutive term, while the Congress aims to defeat the ruling party to return to power.