Pradyut Bordoloi Quits Congress, Meets Amit Shah; May Contest Assam Polls

Speaking to ANI, on his political move, Bordoloi said he recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who advised him to consider contesting the upcoming 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.

He added that a final decision on contesting the Assam Assembly polls will be taken soon.

Earlier in the day, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi said that the resignation of Congress senior leader from Assam, Pradyut Bordoloi, is "very unfortunate", suggesting that he was "upset" over ticket allocation for the Assam Assembly elections.

Priyanka Gandhi wished that the Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi had a conversation with the party leadership before tendering his resignation.

"It is very unfortunate. I think he was upset over one ticket allocation, and we wish we had a chance to have a conversation about it," she said.

Bordoloi had claimed that he was being insulted by the Congress party and this had forced his hand.

"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... I have become very lonely because I have been associated with the Congress all my life," Bordoloi told reporters.

Bordoloi's resignation comes a month after former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah joined the BJP, who served in the Congress for three decades.

Elections in Assam for all 126 Assembly constituencies will be held in a single phase on April 9, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, the Election Commission of India announced on Sunday.

Assam will witness a fight between the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and Congress for the 126-seat assembly.

The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will look to secure a third consecutive term, while the Congress aims to defeat the ruling party to return to power.

The apex poll body said that Assam, along with the states of West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, will hold elections to their legislative assemblies, commencing from April 9.

While Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will vote in a single phase on April 9, voters in Tamil Nadu will exercise their franchise in a single phase on April 23.

Assembly polls in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes for all four states and one union territory will take place on May 4, the Chief Election Commissioner said.

- ANI