TL;DR
Bhupen Borah, the man who built Congress's entire opposition alliance in Assam, just walked out after 32 years and is joining the BJP on February 22. His exit, barely two months before the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, isn't just one leader switching sides. It's the latest symptom of a party that keeps losing its architects to the very rival they were supposed to defeat.
The Man Who Built the Alliance, Then Burned It Down
Here's the irony that makes this story sting for Congress.
Bhupen Kumar Borah wasn't some disgruntled backbencher. As president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) from 2021 to 2025, he was the principal architect of the United Opposition Forum (UoF), the coalition designed to take on Himanta Biswa Sarma's BJP in 2026. He chaired the committees overseeing campaign management and seat-sharing negotiations. He knew where every piece was on the board.
And then he flipped the board.
On the morning of February 16, Borah emailed his resignation to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, with a copy to Rahul Gandhi. Within hours, what followed was political drama straight out of a thriller: AICC leaders rushing to his home in Guwahati, a three-hour persuasion session, a 15-minute phone call from Rahul Gandhi himself, and claims that he'd withdrawn his resignation.
Except he hadn't. Borah publicly denied withdrawing, held a press conference the next day, and by evening, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma was at his home, where Borah's family welcomed him with aarti. The date was set: February 22, BJP.
Why Borah Left: It's Not Just One Thing
Borah's grievances read like a checklist of everything wrong with Congress's organizational structure. Here's what he cited:
The "APCC-R" Problem
Borah's most explosive charge was coining the term "APCC-R", short for "Assam Pradesh Congress Committee - Rakibul." His claim: all real power in Assam Congress lies with Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain. The current APCC chief Gaurav Gogoi, Borah alleged, became president only because of Hussain's backing.
"I want to be part of APCC, but not APCC-R," Borah told reporters. "It's like a faction of a party."
The Samaguri Ticket Denial
When Hussain moved to the Lok Sabha (winning Dhubri), his Samaguri Assembly seat fell vacant. Borah wanted to contest the by-election. Instead, the ticket went to Hussain's son Tanzil Hussain, who lost to BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah. For Borah, this wasn't just a snub. It was proof that dynasty mattered more than strategy.
Systematic Marginalization
After being replaced as APCC president by Gaurav Gogoi in May 2025, Borah says he was reduced to an "ornamental" role. AICC leaders allegedly appointed district and block presidents without his consent while he was still president. For a grassroots leader from a non-political family who'd spent 32 years building the party, this wasn't just organizational politics. It was personal.
The Pakistan Allegations on Gogoi
BJP had raised allegations about Gaurav Gogoi's visits to Pakistan. When Borah asked Gogoi for clarity, he received what he called an "unsatisfactory reply". Congress's failure to issue a clear public response, in his view, damaged the party's credibility in a state where such allegations carry weight.
The Himanta Playbook: Deja Vu from 2015
If this story feels familiar, it should. Himanta Biswa Sarma drew the parallel himself: "I have gone through the same pain that Bhupen Borah went through."
In 2015, Sarma was Congress's most powerful leader in Assam. Sidelined by the party high command in favor of Tarun Gogoi, he walked out, joined the BJP, and single-handedly engineered Congress's defeat in 2016. The party has never recovered in the state.
Now the playbook is repeating. And Sarma isn't just welcoming Borah. He's predicting 4-5 more Congress MLAs will cross over within two weeks, plus two minority MLAs. Whether that materializes remains to be seen, but the psychological damage is already done.
Sarma also made a loaded remark, calling Borah "the last Hindu leader in Assam Congress". It's a calculated framing designed to paint Congress as a party captured by minority interests, and it plays directly into the polarization strategy that BJP has used effectively in Assam's elections.
The Bigger Picture: Congress's Organizational Rot
Borah's exit is not an isolated incident. Consider the pattern in Assam alone:
| Event | When | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Himanta Biswa Sarma joins BJP | 2015 | Congress lost Assam, hasn't recovered |
| 150+ Congress workers resign in Karbi Anglong | Dec 2025 | Mass exodus at grassroots |
| Abdur Rashid Mandal (3-term MLA) joins Raijor Dal | Feb 2026 | Opposition fragmenting |
| Bhupen Borah joins BJP | Feb 2026 | Opposition alliance architect gone |
And this isn't unique to Assam. Congress has faced a national pattern of leader defections before state elections. The BJP's strategy is well-documented: identify discontented leaders, offer them safe seats, time the switch for maximum damage, and let Congress explain itself.
The structural problem? Congress's high command model concentrates all decisions in Delhi, while leaders on the ground do the actual work. When those ground leaders feel bypassed, there's no institutional mechanism to address their grievances. A phone call from Rahul Gandhi, however well-intentioned, can't substitute for organizational democracy.
Congress's Response: Too Little, Too Late
The party pulled every lever it had:
- Rahul Gandhi called Borah for 15 minutes
- Gaurav Gogoi personally visited and offered an apology: "If any wrong was done, as a brother, I apologise"
- AICC in-charge Jitendra Singh spent three hours at Borah's home
- Priyanka Gandhi arrived in Assam on February 18 for damage control
None of it worked. And the reason is simple: these are reactive gestures, not structural fixes. Borah's complaints weren't about one bad decision. They were about a pattern of marginalization over two years. You can't fix that with a phone call.
Even the optics were poor. Jitendra Singh claimed Borah had withdrawn his resignation. Borah publicly denied it, reportedly escaping a party meeting midway. The contradiction made Congress look both desperate and dishonest.
How Media Framed This Story
The coverage split predictably along ideological lines:
| Framing | Right-leaning Media | Left-leaning / Independent Media |
|---|---|---|
| Sarma's "last Hindu leader" remark | Amplified prominently | Questioned as communal strategy |
| Borah's exit | "Natural result of Congress collapse" | "BJP engineered defection timing" |
| "APCC-R" charge | Legitimate organizational grievance | Noted Borah himself promoted Hussain to Dhubri ticket |
| Congress damage control | "Desperate and failed" | "Too little, structural failure" |
The most interesting analysis came from The Federal, which called it an "ideological churn" rather than just a defection, quoting a senior Congress leader who alleged "there is a BJP factor working inside Congress," suggesting some leaders quietly propagate Hindutva narratives for political survival.
It also flagged a telling irony: Borah himself had recommended Rakibul Hussain for the Dhubri Lok Sabha ticket in 2024. The same leader he now accuses of capturing the party.
What Happens Next
The 2026 Assam Assembly elections are two months away. Here's what to watch:
For BJP: Borah brings grassroots networks in Upper Assam, particularly Bihpuria and North Lakhimpur. He also brings intimate knowledge of Congress's alliance strategy, which he designed. The intelligence value alone is significant.
For Congress: The United Opposition Forum that Borah built is now leaderless in practice. Priyanka Gandhi's visit signals the party recognizes the crisis, but organizational rebuilding two months before elections is nearly impossible.
For the opposition broadly: Raijor Dal's Akhil Gogoi urged Borah to stay in the anti-BJP camp, accusing Sarma of playing "mind games." But the appeal came too late. The opposition's problem isn't just Congress. It's that there's no credible alternative to absorb discontented leaders without them drifting to the BJP.
The Takeaway
Bhupen Borah's exit tells a story that goes beyond Assam. It's about a party that keeps building coalitions on the backs of leaders it then marginalizes. It's about a high command structure that confuses control with leadership. And it's about a rival party that has turned opposition defections into an electoral strategy.
The question isn't why Borah left. It's why Congress keeps creating the conditions for leaders like him to leave.
Sources: The Federal, The Print, Republic World, Northeast Live, OpIndia, Business Standard, Scroll.in, NE Now
