A fresh political controversy has erupted in Assam after senior Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the party. A resignation letter signed by him surfaced late on Tuesday night, 17th March. The resignation letter, written to Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge, reads, “With an overwhelming sense of sadness today, I hereby tender my resignation from all posts, privileges, and the primary membership of the Indian National Congress.”
Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi has resigned from the party. pic.twitter.com/3hWGudgYYS
— IANS (@ians_india) March 17, 2026
The development comes just two days after Bordoloi publicly said he had been “humiliated” within the party. The senior leader, who has been in Delhi since Monday, 16th March, had raised concerns about internal issues and the way decisions were being taken ahead of the upcoming elections.
Despite the letter circulating widely, Bordoloi has not made any public statement so far and remains unavailable for comment.
Gaurav Gogoi denies resignation, calls it fake news
Soon after the letter went viral, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi dismissed the reports and claimed that the resignation news was not true. He said he had personally met Bordoloi in Delhi along with senior leader Jitendra Singh and held detailed discussions.
VIDEO | Rejecting the talks that senior leader Pradyut Bordoloi has resigned from the party, Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi (@GauravGogoiAsm) says, "I reject such news, the Assam CM is continuously trying to defame our senior leader Pradyut Bordoloi, we met Pradyut Bordoloi,… pic.twitter.com/xKGQw9nFXL
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 17, 2026
“Through the media, the Chief Minister of Assam repeatedly tries to taint our senior MP Pradyut Bordoloi, tries to harm his image. Now, my General Secretary Jitendra Singh and I met him, and we had a detailed discussion about how we will reach the people for the upcoming election and the new Assam we are imagining,” Gogoi told reporters.
This is not the first time Gogoi has rejected such claims. Earlier, when former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah resigned from the party on 16th February, similar confusion had emerged, which Gogoi had initially played down.
Amid the ongoing controversy, the Congress has fielded Bordoloi’s son, Prateek Bordoloi, as its candidate from the Margherita Assembly constituency. The move has added another layer to the political developments, especially at a time when questions are being raised about Bordoloi’s position within the party.
Background: Discontent within the party
Bordoloi, a two-term MP from Nagaon and a senior leader who has served as a minister in the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress governments, is among the party’s most prominent faces in Assam. He is one of the three Congress Lok Sabha MPs from the state, along with Gaurav Gogoi and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain.
His recent dissatisfaction appears to stem from internal disagreements over candidate selection and the handling of certain incidents. On Sunday, Bordoloi wrote to Jitendra Singh, who is in charge of Assam for the party, stating that he felt “humiliated” during discussions on the selection of candidates for the Laharighat Assembly segment, which falls under his Nagaon constituency.
He raised concerns about the support given by Congress MLA Asif Nazar to an individual accused of attacking him. The issue dates back to April 2025, when Bordoloi and MLA Sibamoni Bora were injured after a mob attacked their convoy during a campaign in Dhing. Police later arrested Emdadul Islam in connection with the incident.
In his letter, Bordoloi claimed that Islam is a “close associate” of Nazar and was given a “hero’s welcome” after being released on bail. He also alleged that despite informing Gaurav Gogoi about the matter, the state president shared a stage with both Nazar and the accused.
Bordoloi further said that he felt deeply hurt when his concerns were dismissed as “false” by UP MP Imran Masood during a Congress Central Election Committee meeting held in Delhi on 13th March. He described this as the final blow to his “self-respect”.
BJP signals openness amid political churn
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has indicated that the BJP would be open to welcoming Bordoloi if he decides to leave the Congress. His remarks have further fuelled speculation about the senior leader’s next move.
With no official confirmation from Bordoloi yet, the situation remains unclear, but the episode has once again highlighted internal tensions within the Assam Congress unit.
