Major setback for Congress in Assam: Pradyut Bordoloi quits, resigns from Lok Sabha, joins BJP, to contest Assembly elections

Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Lok Sabha.
Pradyut Bordoloi (Image via Sentinel Assam)

In a major blow to the Congress Party in Assam ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections, senior party leader Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (March 18, 2026), after quitting the Congress. Speaking to the media on his resignation, Bordoloi said senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah suggested that he contest in the state Assembly elections in Assam. “I have just resigned from my Lok Sabha seat. I met Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He has been very kind. He knows everything about him. He suggested that I should contest the Assembly elections in Assam. I have to take a call, and I will decide on it,” Bordoloi said.

Yesterday (March 17, 2026), Bordoloi tendered his resignation from all posts of the Congress Party to join the BJP. He was welcomed into the BJP by Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday. Announcing Bordoloi’s addition to the BJP, Sarma said that being a stalwart politician, he would strengthen the party. “Today, the sitting MP from Nagaon, Pradyut Bordoloi, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Our State President Dilip Saikia has welcomed him to the fold of our party. As you know, Pradyut Bordoloi is a two-time MP from Nagaon Lok Sabha. He was a former minister in the Congress Cabinet under Tarun Gogoi. As well as, he is an old Congressman. His history with Congress goes back to 1975. So, his joining the BJP will definitely strengthen our party…” Sarma said, speaking to the media.

Addressing the media on his resignation from the Congress Party, Bordoloi said that he did not want to leave the party, but he was being insulted on many issues. “Today, I have abandoned one of the most important principles of my life, and I am not happy with it…. However, I made this decision because I was being insulted on many issues by anyone who approached me from within the Congress Party, especially in the Assam Congress. Even the Congress leadership was not showing sympathy towards me…,” Bordoloi said.

“I have become very lonely because I have been associated with the Congress all my life… But of late, I have been having a lot of difficulty surviving, so I have to make this decision. Yes, I have submitted this resignation letter to the AICC President,” Bordoloi said after resigning from the Congress Party,” he added.

Written by OpIndia Staff
Last modified at