Guwahati, Feb 21 (IANS) Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi on Saturday said there was no bitterness within the party during Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s recent visit to Assam, even as senior leader Bhupen Kumar Borah resigned from the Congress and is set to join the BJP.

“Priyanka Gandhi spoke to everyone during her Assam visit. There is no kind of bitterness among us. I tried to persuade Bhupen Borah to stay, but it seems he had already made up his mind,” Bordoloi told reporters.

Bordoloi’s remarks came in the backdrop of Borah’s resignation from the Congress, a move that has triggered fresh political speculation in the state ahead of the Assembly elections.

Bhupen Borah, who served as the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president, formally quit the party earlier this week and is expected to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was in Assam recently as part of the party’s organisational outreach and review of political preparedness in the state. During her visit, she held meetings with senior leaders, MPs, MLAs and party workers to assess ground-level issues and strengthen coordination within the party.

The exit of Bhupen Borah is being seen as a significant setback for the Congress in Assam, where the party has been attempting to revive its organisational structure after successive electoral defeats. Borah had led the state unit through a difficult political phase marked by defections and internal challenges.

While the Congress leadership has maintained that organisational changes are part of an ongoing restructuring exercise, the BJP has claimed that Borah’s resignation reflects growing dissatisfaction within the Congress ranks.

Rejecting such assertions, Bordoloi said the Congress remains united and focused on its political objectives in Assam. “This is a democratic party, and differences of opinion can exist. Our priority is to strengthen the organisation and raise issues concerning unemployment, price rise and the overall failure of the BJP government in Assam,” he said.

Political analysts believe that Priyanka Gandhi’s Assam visit indicated a renewed attempt by the Congress to recalibrate its strategy in the state amid an increasingly competitive political landscape.

–IANS

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