In yet another jolt to the Congress, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) working president Rana Goswami resigned from the party on Wednesday and is likely to join the BJP. The exit of Goswami, a former MLA from Jorhat, followed close on the heels of several other senior leaders like former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan and former MP Milind Deora leaving the grand old party.
“I beg to state that I am tendering my resignation as the working President of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee and as an active member of Indian National Congress,” he said in the resignation letter addressed to Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal.
Goswami’s departure from Congress is expected to create a big vacuum for the party in Upper Assam. Three days back on Sunday, Goswami resigned as the party’s organisational in-charge of Upper Assam citing “various political reasons”.
Goswami reached Delhi on Tuesday and the next day he sent his resignation to the Congress High Command. The former MLA is likely to join the BJP on March 1 at State BJP HQs in Guwahati.
Meanwhile, Sashikanta Das, the Raha MLA, who is seen as the first rebel in the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, has blamed Congress leadership for Goswami’s move.
Das was also suspended from Congress two years ago for repeatedly failing to maintain party discipline. Das had extended support to the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government without resigning from Congress or his post of MLA.
Later some other Congress MLAs followed his step and a new term called ‘SASHI MODEL’ came into existence in Assam’s politics. Even CM Himanta Biswa Sarma recently cited the ‘SASHI Model’ and said several Congress leaders will join to BJP or Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) soon.
When asked about Goswami’s move, Das said, it is due to “poor leadership” of the State Congress and the “boldness” of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that even the leaders of opposition parties are being attracted by BJP.
“APCC President Bhupoen Bora is a worthless leader. He failed to lead the party (Congress) appropriately,” Das said while speaking to media.
He also claimed, “Women are not safe in Congress. There were complaints which are still unsolved.”
Referring to some Congress MLAs extending support to BJP-led government, he said, “CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is a true leader. Our state is on the path of development in every sector. This is the reason why the opposition MLAs supporting BJP led government.”
Goswami was a close associate of former CM Tarun Gogoi, and was elected to the assembly in 2006 and 2011 from Jorhat. He was appointed the state party’s working president in 2021.
Earlier this month, Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha resigned as state working president and along with another party legislator, Basanta Das, expressed support for the BJP-led government’s “development agenda”.
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