<p>Rijiju, a former MP from Arunachal Pradesh who was considered the face of the BJP in the northeast, resigned Monday to join the Congress.<br /><br />"I would say the BJP's Hindutva campaign had a very negative impact in the northeast, a region with a dominant minority population. Hindutva failed to cut much ice among the people in the region," Rijiju said.<br /><br />"I realised that the Congress party was the best option to work for the development of the northeast. I am committed to carrying forward my agenda for overall socio-economic progress of Arunachal Pradesh and the whole of the region," the former MP from Arunachal Pradesh West constituency said.<br /><br />Rijiju lost the last parliamentary elections to the Congress' Takam Sanjay.<br />Rijiju, 38, was made national secretary by the BJP early in his political career. <br /><br />"The problems and sentiments of the people of the northeast were not understood by the BJP leadership. I tried my best to make the leadership realise the intricate problems of the region, but then they simply failed to understand," the former BJP leader said.<br />The Congress is jubilant after the firebrand BJP leader agreed to resign and join the ruling party.<br /><br />"This is an important political development and we are happy that he is with us now," Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu said.<br />The development is significant for the ruling Congress as Arunachal Pradesh goes to the polls to elect a 60-member legislature sometime in October.<br /><br />"I have no intention to fight the assembly elections," Rijiju said.<br />"I would rather work for the party and do whatever best I can for the welfare of my state and the region."<br />The BJP, however, had some harsh words to say about Rijiju by terming him a betrayer.<br />"He betrayed the very party that gave him a solid platform to launch his political career. He made himself a pawn in the hands of the Congress," BJP's general secretary in-charge of northeast, P. Chandrasekhar Rao, said.</p>
<p>Rijiju, a former MP from Arunachal Pradesh who was considered the face of the BJP in the northeast, resigned Monday to join the Congress.<br /><br />"I would say the BJP's Hindutva campaign had a very negative impact in the northeast, a region with a dominant minority population. Hindutva failed to cut much ice among the people in the region," Rijiju said.<br /><br />"I realised that the Congress party was the best option to work for the development of the northeast. I am committed to carrying forward my agenda for overall socio-economic progress of Arunachal Pradesh and the whole of the region," the former MP from Arunachal Pradesh West constituency said.<br /><br />Rijiju lost the last parliamentary elections to the Congress' Takam Sanjay.<br />Rijiju, 38, was made national secretary by the BJP early in his political career. <br /><br />"The problems and sentiments of the people of the northeast were not understood by the BJP leadership. I tried my best to make the leadership realise the intricate problems of the region, but then they simply failed to understand," the former BJP leader said.<br />The Congress is jubilant after the firebrand BJP leader agreed to resign and join the ruling party.<br /><br />"This is an important political development and we are happy that he is with us now," Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu said.<br />The development is significant for the ruling Congress as Arunachal Pradesh goes to the polls to elect a 60-member legislature sometime in October.<br /><br />"I have no intention to fight the assembly elections," Rijiju said.<br />"I would rather work for the party and do whatever best I can for the welfare of my state and the region."<br />The BJP, however, had some harsh words to say about Rijiju by terming him a betrayer.<br />"He betrayed the very party that gave him a solid platform to launch his political career. He made himself a pawn in the hands of the Congress," BJP's general secretary in-charge of northeast, P. Chandrasekhar Rao, said.</p>