Rift in Assam BJP? New entrants preferred over old loyalists

Guwahati: Rift within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resurfaced on Thursday after the party announced candidates for 88 constituencies for the upcoming Assembly elections, dropping several senior leaders while fielding a significant number of turncoats from rival parties.

Among the most striking exclusions is Siddhartha Bhattacharya, the former president of the BJP’s Assam unit and sitting MLA from the 53 Guwahati East constituency. Bhattacharya, who joined the party in 1995, was widely regarded as a key figure in facilitating Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s entry into the BJP.

The candidate list leaves out 19 sitting MLAs, including Cabinet minister Nandita Garlosa from the 16 Haflong constituency in a reshuffle that has unsettled sections of the party’s old guard.

At the same time, the BJP has leaned heavily on leaders who previously belonged to opposition or regional parties. An analysis of the list shows that at least 30 candidates, around 35 per cent are defectors from the Congress and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).

The largest share comes from the Congress, with around 19 candidates having crossed over to the BJP over the years. These include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself, along with senior leaders such as Jayanta Malla Baruah, Pijush Hazarika, Ajanta Neog, Rupjyoti Kurmi and new entrants Bhupen Borah and Pradyut Bordoloi.

Borah, the former Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president who had earlier described the BJP as ideologically incompatible, joined the party on February 16 and has now been fielded from the 73 Bihpuria constituency. Bordoloi, a sitting Nagaon MP, switched sides just a day before the candidate list was announced.

The influx of defectors has, however, triggered resentment among long-time BJP workers and ticket aspirants who say organisational loyalty is being overlooked.

The discontent spilled into the open when senior party worker Jayanta Das, denied a ticket from Dispur, publicly criticised the leadership. “BJP is a party shaped by us, not Himanta Biswa Sarma,” he said, questioning the preference for recent entrants over established party workers.

He also took aim at the Chief Minister’s backing of new entrants, saying, “If there is so much confidence in them, why not field them from your own constituency?” Das added that voters in Dispur would not be swayed by what he described as “hollow welfare schemes”.

In addition to Congress defectors, at least six candidates in the BJP list have roots in the AGP, a regional ally, including Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, Padma Hazarika and Naba Kumar Doley.

The list also includes leaders drawn from regional and tribal organisations, reflecting the party’s continued outreach among indigenous communities. Among them are Biswajit Daimary, formerly of the Bodoland People’s Front, Ranoj Pegu, who rose through the Mising Autonomous Council, Bhubon Pegu of the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), Rama Kanta Deori of the Tiwa Jatiya Oikya Mancha, and Tankeswar Rabha of the Rabha Hasong Joutha Mancha (RHJM).

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