Former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah, who defected to the BJP before the Assembly polls and won the Bihpuria seat on a BJP ticket, on Wednesday blamed his former party for its heavy losses and said Congress was “reaping what it had sown” after a crushing defeat in the state elections. Borah credited Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for the BJP’s strong performance and said voters had endorsed the government’s development agenda. “I must admit that under the leadership of Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam has witnessed unprecedented political success. The people have once again placed their faith in his leadership,” he told reporters.
Borah argued that the Bihpuria mandate reflected public approval of the BJP government’s work and rejected the Congress campaign narrative. “The people have proved that the BJP’s organisational strength and development politics were genuine. Congress tried to shape a different narrative, but the voters rejected it,” he said, using the result to underline the party’s organisational reach during the polls.
Turning his fire on Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, Borah alleged that the party had weakened considerably under Gogoi’s leadership. He claimed Congress lost support in several traditional strongholds and failed to maintain the momentum it had after the Lok Sabha elections.
Recalling his own tenure as state Congress president, Borah noted the party once won the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat by a margin “of over 1.5 lakh votes,” but said even that support base had eroded. He accused Congress of internal divisions and what he called “remote-controlled politics,” arguing these factors damaged the party’s prospects in Assam.
Borah also suggested the party might be compelled to appoint a minority-community leader as its state leader because many of its remaining legislators, he said, come from minority-dominated constituencies. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance returned to power in Assam with a large mandate, securing a comfortable majority in the 126-member Assembly.
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/05/06/congress-reaping-what-it-sowed-bhupen-borah-after-bjps-assam-win/
Category: NATIONAL,News Alert
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Publish Date: 2026-05-06 14:34:00
