Ex-Union minister Rajen Gohain quits BJP, claims indigenous communities betrayed

Gohain, a four-time MP who last contested and won from the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in 2014, said he was quitting the party’s primary membership with immediate effect

GUWAHATI: A senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Assam, Rajen Gohain, on Thursday announced his resignation from the party, saying he was upset with the party’s state leadership for its alleged “betrayal of Assam’s indigenous communities”.

Gohain said he resigned as the BJP failed to fulfil the promises made to the people of Assam.

Gohain, a four-time MP who last contested and won from the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in 2014, said he was quitting the party’s primary membership with immediate effect, adding that he had submitted his resignation to Assam unit chief Dilip Saikia.

The move comes ahead of assembly elections slated early next year

The former union minister of state for railways, however, did not speak about his future plans. “I haven’t decided on my next move yet. Definitely, I will think about it,” the 74-year-old politician told reporters.

Gohain, who joined the BJP in 1991 and was the union minister of state for railways between 2016 and 2019, said he was upset with the party’s state leadership and its alleged “betrayal of Assam’s indigenous communities”. He also questioned the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary seats in the state done last year, saying that the process was flawed.

Gohain, who joined the party in 1991 and had represented the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat four consecutive times between 1999 and 2019, was union minister between 2016 and 2019.

He had earlier expressed concern about the party promoting new faces at the expense of senior party leaders.