The list of high-profile departures from the Congress has been getting longer in recent days and there is buzz that the next such name is likely to be from Assam. According to these whispers, former state Congress president and Rajya Sabha member Ripun Bora may move to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Neither Bora nor any of the two parties have commented on this.
West Bengal’s ruling TMC is aggressively attempting to expand in other parts of the country, particularly the Northeast, in its attempts to emerge as a national alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2024.
Trinamool’s ambitions have been bruising the Congress, with many of its leaders changing sides in recent days. Present Rajya Sabha lawmaker and former Lok Sabha MP from Assam Sushmita Dev left the Congress for the TMC last year.
Ripun Bora, a former state minister, is undoubtedly a big name in Assam. After the Congress lost the state elections last year, he resigned from the post of local unit chief, taking moral responsibility.
That the Congress is struggling in Assam became all the more evident in the recent Rajya Sabha polls when Ripun Bora lost even after the party fought hard.
Sources say he has been made to understand that there is no future in the Congress and right now joining the TMC is the best option.
However, according to some insiders, Bora has rejected this and told his close associates that “till now he is in Congress”.
Sources say that some youth leaders of the Congress from the region are also unhappy with the party.
The TMC is looking to quickly get a foothold in Assam, and its new party offices are expected to be ready next week.
According to sources, Trinamool has its eyes on Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya in the Northeast for now.
TMC insiders say that the Congress has pathetically failed in Assam and there is a space that can be filled.
Sushmita Dev has already started the party’s expansion in the Silchar-Cachar area and, sources say, if Ripun Bora too joins, the TMC will get a big boost in Assam and it’ll be a significant blow to the Congress.
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