Former president of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee and former Rajya Sabha member, Ripun Bora joined Trinamool Congress on Sunday while blaming "inner fight" among a section of leaders for the party's defeat against BJP in elections, including in the recent Rajya Sabha polls.
Bora is the second big Congress leader in Assam to have joined Mamta Banerjee's party, after Sushmita Dev, who joined Trianmool in August last year. Sushmita was later elected by TMC as Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal.
Bora, 66, joined the TMC in presence of the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, days after the he was defeated by ruling BJP and its allies in the Rajya Sabha polls held on March 31. Bora, who served as education minister before 2008, was fielded as Congress candidate for the second term as Rajya Sabha member but was defeated by Rwngwra Narzary, a candidate of UPPL, an ally of BJP in Assam.
He was Congress' face in Assam after the death of former CM Tarun Gogoi in November 2020. Bora had joined Congress in 1976 and had served as PCC president too. He resigned as PCC chief after the defeat of Congress-led "grand alliance" of Opposition parties against BJP and its allies in the Assembly elections in 2021.
In his letter to interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday, Bora said that instead of unitedly fighting BJP, leaders of the grand old party are fighting against each other at different levels for their vested interests. "This has given BJP ample advantage in every nook and corner of the country, demoralising Congress workers," he said.
He said that Congress failed to defeat BJP and its allies in the 2021 Assembly elections due to "inner fight" among a section of senior-most leaders in Assam PCC. He also said that some of the Congress leaders' actions helped BJP and its allies win both seats of Rajya Sabha last month. Bora was fielded as Congress candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat for the second term by Sonia Gandhi even as a section of party leaders were against him.
Bora alleged that instead of fighting against BJP and its allies, a section of senior-most leaders in Assam PCC have been maintaining secret understanding with BJP government, mainly with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Bora's joining may give TMC another boost as the party is trying to strengthen its footprint in the North East, particularly in Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura. Meghalaya and Tripura are going for Assembly elections next year.
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