In a dramatic U-turn, senior Congress leader Bhupen Kumar Borah on Monday withdrew his resignation hours after tendering it to the party high command, following intense backchannel discussions and persuasion by top leaders.
Congress in-charge for Assam, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, thanked Borah for reconsidering his decision, saying the resignation had not been accepted by the party president. “He is an important member of the Congress family. Sometimes there are differences of opinion. The party leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, held a long discussion with him. We have resolved this through dialogue,” Singh said, noting Borah’s three-decade-long association with the party.
Earlier in the day, Assam Congress president and MP Gaurav Gogoi visited Borah’s residence and reportedly played a key role in persuading him to retract his resignation.
Speaking to the media after submitting his resignation, Borah had hinted at internal disagreements, saying, “All of this started from Behali… If the Congress party can’t even decide who they want with them in the Majuli yatra, then we need to look at the future of the party.” He also revealed that leaders from multiple parties, including CPI(M), had reached out to him.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reacted sharply, calling Borah’s resignation “symbolic” of deeper troubles within the state Congress. He alleged that the party was gripped by appeasement politics and claimed that several Congress leaders may soon resign, though he said the BJP was not actively encouraging defections ahead of the Rajya Sabha election.
Borah’s reversal has temporarily defused tensions but exposed simmering factional fault lines within the Assam Congress unit.
