Two Assam leaders abandon Congress, likely to join BJP today

GUWAHATI: Congress lost two more senior leaders - former Rajya Sabha MP Santiuse Kujur and former minister Gautam Roy - on Saturday. Both are expected to join BJP on Sunday.
With this, four Congress leaders from Assam have jumped ship in a fortnight. The first to leave was Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, followed by its Rajya Sabha chief whip Bhubaneswar Kalita. Both have joined the saffron party.
"I took the decision on my own, taking into account the present situation," Roy said. The strongman from the Barak Valley did not spell out his next move but, in what appears to be a clear indication of where he is headed, added, "I have always had a soft corner for Hindus. I have been an MLA for 30 years ... a record. In every election, 99% of my votes had been from Hindus."
Roy had earlier courted controversy after videos and photos of him "celebrating" BJP's victory in the Lok Sabha election went viral. Reports had said Congress was considering action against the 72-year-old leader. On Saturday, minutes after he announced his resignation, Congress expelled him for "anti-party activities" based on the party disciplinary action committee's recommendation.
Purely personal decision to leave party, Kujur wrote in letter
Adivasi leader Kujur wrote in his resignation letter that it was “purely (his) personal decision” to leave the party with which he had been associated for 13 years. “I wish everyone in the party best ... and hope that they can help in changing the country in better,” he added. The Rajya Sabha term of the 45-year-old leader had ended in June this year, along with that of Manmohan Singh.
Ripun Bora, Rajya Sabha MP and president of the state unit of Congress, told TOI, “These Congressmen who have left us are powerhungry. For the past several decades, they enjoyed power and honour as Congressmen. Now, when we have nothing to offer since we are in the opposition, they have become desperate. It will be interesting to see what BJP offers them.”
He added, “It’s quite natural. These are setbacks for the party’s rank and file, but I’d say the setback is only temporary ... People will soon forget and move on.”
Congress has gone from holding six of the state’s seven Rajya Sabha seats at the beginning of the year to retaining just two. BJP and its allies, meanwhile, have expanded their share from one to three.
The two seats vacated by Kujur and Manmohan were snapped up by BJP and its ally Asom Gana Parishad. The seat held by BJP ally Bodoland People’s Front will be up for contest next year, while the terms of the two Congress MPs — Ripun Bora and Ranee Narah — will end in 2022.
Earlier this year, one of BJP’s pet projects that has met stiff resistance in Assam, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, could not be pushed through the Rajya Sabha because it did not have the requisite numbers.