Assam TMC chief resigns citing lack of support from Mamta Banerjee

Ripun Bora said that despite efforts over the past two years the party has failed to get electoral success in Assam due to the perception of TMC being a regional party of West Bengal

Published on: Sep 1, 2024, 19:39:44 IST

By Utpal Parashar

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Trinamool Congress (TMC) Assam unit president Ripun Bora resigned from his post and the party on Sunday citing lack of support from the central leadership.

In a letter addressed to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Bora said that despite efforts over the past two years the party has failed to get electoral success in Assam due to the “perception of TMC as a regional party of West Bengal”.

Bora said that to counter this perception several suggestions including declaring the residence of Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika in Tollygunge (West Bengal) as a heritage site and converting the Madhupur Satra at Cooch Behar (also in West Bengal), the place from where Assam’s social reformer Srimanta Sankardev started his Vaishnavite movement, into a cultural hub.

“Despite my repeated attempts over the past year and a half to secure an appointment with you and our chief minister Mamata Di (West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee), to address these concerns, I have been unsuccessful,” he wrote in his letter to Abhishek Banerjee.

Sixty-eight-year-old Bora, who was earlier the Congress state unit chief, had joined the TMC in April 2022, nearly a year after the grand old party’s second electoral defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state assembly polls.

“The people of Assam are not willing to accept a party that they perceive as being from another state. In light of these challenges and the lack of an adequate resolution, I feel compelled to make a difficult decision and have decided to dissociate myself from TMC,” he wrote.

Bora’s departure will weaken the TMC in Assam ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. Though he has not indicated his next move, it is speculated that he could go back to Congress in future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Parashar
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.Read More

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