Bharat Jodo Yatra

1. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has strongly condemned Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, alleging that it is deepening the divisions within the Congress party.
2. Sarma’s criticism follows the endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public welfare initiatives by two Assam Congress MLAs, Kamalaksh De Purkayastha and Basant Das.
3. These developments underscore the ongoing challenges faced by the Congress party as it grapples with internal dissent and defections to rival political factions.

Guwahati, Feb 14: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has sharply criticized Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, accusing it of exacerbating the fragmentation within the Congress party.

Sarma’s remarks come in the wake of two Assam Congress MLAs, Kamalaksh De Purkayastha and Basant Das, expressing their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public welfare policies.

This shift is part of a broader trend, with four out of the state’s 25 Congress MLAs, including Shashi Kant Das and Siddiq Ahmed, already joining the BJP’s Vikas Yatra.

Sarma confidently predicts that the remaining 21 MLAs from the Congress party in Assam will also defect to the BJP shortly, further weakening the opposition.

Also Read: 5 Arunachal MLAs, 2 from Congress, 3 from NPP, Eye BJP Before Elections

The situation intensified when Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha resigned from the post of Working President of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, opting to continue as a primary member of the party.

In his resignation letter addressed to APCC President Bhupen Borah, Purkayastha emphasized his decision to step down from his leadership role.

Earlier, both Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Basanta Das, Congress MLAs, met and lauded Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, expressing their support for the BJP in the state legislative assembly.

This series of defections underscores the challenging situation facing the Congress, with multiple leaders abandoning the party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.