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Northeast Narrative OPINION: Poll Season’s A Good Time For Party Hopping
Rifa Deka | February 19, 2026 9:41 PM CST

Bhupen Borah’s decision to jump ship from Congress to the BJP was not exactly a thunderclap, but certainly a headline-grabber. But why now, you ask? Isn’t this shift around poll season just a bit obvious? 

Former Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah is all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on February 22. Confirmation came straight from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday, who announced that a formal induction ceremony would be held that day. He also hinted that Borah may not be alone in crossing over.

After this much-talked-about meeting at Borah’s residence in Ghoramara, the CM, while addressing the press, portrayed Borah as someone who, despite being in Congress, had always worked for the best interests of the Assamese people.

He even went on to add a little salt to the wound, saying, “When a leader of his stature decides to leave the Congress and join the BJP, it becomes my responsibility to meet him and welcome him personally.” And in perhaps the most politically delicate assertion, he insisted Borah’s move was not driven by ambition.

“He is not joining the BJP just to become an MLA. He is deeply anguished by the situation in his former party, and that is the primary reason behind his decision,” he said.

Assam Congress, meanwhile, is not treating this move as routine. APCC spokesperson Reetam Singh said, “How much can you trust a person who took an oath on the name of Maa Kamakhya and Batadrawa that never in this life would he join the BJP?”

"The main question to Himanta Biswa Sarma is how he will now investigate the lewd gesture scandal case, which he referred to CID to investigate? Or the USTM Case in which he said Bhupen Borah has links with Mahbubul Haque," the APCC spokesperson added.

The ‘Lewd Gesture’ Controversy

Earlier this month, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed Assam Police to register a case against Borah over alleged indecent behaviour in a public setting. The Chief Minister instructed the Director General of Police to begin legal proceedings over an incident in which Borah allegedly made “obscene gestures” and displayed “inappropriate conduct” during a public interaction. The incident reportedly occurred in the presence of Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia and Congress leader Mira Borthakur.

Taking a stern position, Sarma claimed the incident hurt the sentiments of Assamese women and girls. According to the CM, visuals of the alleged episode had reached him from Delhi, where questions were reportedly raised about whether such conduct had become normal in Assam. Sarma also said the alleged gestures may have been a reaction to roadside slogans, possibly raised by women unwilling to vote for Congress.

Whatever the reason behind the provocation or the alleged reaction, the CM’s statement about questions on the conduct of Assamese people outside the state won’t sit so well with people, at least now, after the ‘point-blank shot’ video.

Back to Borah’s electoral future, Sarma also said that if required, Borah could even contest from Jalukbari, an Assembly constituency he has been winning for five consecutive terms.

The framing that raised eyebrows: ‘It will be a homecoming’

The Chief Minister said the BJP would accord Borah respect and dignity, describing him as the “last recognised Hindu leader in Congress,” and suggesting that his move would reunite him with many former colleagues. He also argued that Congress in Assam, now left with very few Hindu leaders, was no longer representative of mainstream Assamese society. Now a question out of plain curiosity — Does the mainstream Assamese society comprise Hindus only? 

Once Two Pods In A Pea

It is worth recalling that Sarma himself left Congress in 2015 after differences with then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and joined the BJP, and that both Borah and Sarma joined the Congress around the same time in the early 1990s.

Borah resigned from Congress on February 16, 2026, after which Senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, reportedly attempted to persuade him to reconsider. Explaining his dissatisfaction, he said, “everybody, including our alliance partners, knows what is happening in the party and how it is being led.”

Meanwhile, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi responded to this in a press conference, saying there had been many rumours doing the rounds regarding the close relationship between Himanta Biswa Sarma and Bhupen Borah, but the party tried its best not to believe these rumours and speculations. Information related to ‘confidential meetings’ was known by a particular journalist close to Himanta Biswa Sarma, and these rumours and speculations have now come out to be true, he said. Embed tweet:

“A day after leaving the Congress party, resigning from the Congress party, Bhupen Borah had no qualms about joining the BJP and surrendering to Himanta Biswa Sarma, someone whom he was politically attacking for the past so many years,” Gogoi said.

“It also shows Himanta Biswa Sarma's desperation that today the entire state of Assam is wondering how 12,000 bighas or 4,000 acres of land belongs to one family. How did that happen?” he added. A claim that the CM said he would file defamation cases against top Congress leaders for.

Congress surely has to come up with better arguments beyond the 4,000 acres land scam accusation when they have a plethora of other issues to address, especially when the BJP appears to have checked the development box for most voters, despite its whole ‘Miya-muslim’ narrative.

If yesterday’s adversary is today’s ally, perhaps the only constant in politics is timing.

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