Who is Pradyut Bordoloi, Assam MP who joined BJP after quitting Congress?

Assam MP Pradyut Bordoloi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after resigning from the Indian National Congress ahead of the state polls. Here is a look at his political journey and career

Assam Member of Parliament Pradyut Bordoloi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, after resigning from the Indian National Congress ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

 

Bordoloi joined the BJP in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia.

 

Who is Pradyut Bordoloi?

 

Pradyut Bordoloi is an Indian politician from Assam who currently serves as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from the Nagaon constituency.

 

Born on April 28, 1959, in Margherita in Assam’s Tinsukia district, Bordoloi has been active in politics for more than three decades. He studied at Cotton College and later at Gauhati University before earning an MPhil degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

 

 

During his early years in politics, Bordoloi was associated with the Congress party's student wing and served as president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) in Assam.

 

Political career in Assam

 

Bordoloi began his electoral journey in 1998 when he was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly from the Margherita constituency. He represented the seat four times between 1998 and 2011.

 

During the Congress-led government headed by former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Bordoloi served as a cabinet minister and handled key departments including industries and commerce, power, and public enterprises.

 

In 2019, he entered national politics after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Nagaon. He retained the seat in the 2024 general elections, securing a second term as an MP.

 

Bordoloi accuses Congress leadership

 

Bordoloi said he decided to leave Congress after feeling sidelined by the party leadership. In his one-line resignation letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, he wrote, "With an overwhelming sense of sadness today, I hereby tender my resignation from all posts, privileges and the primary membership of the Indian National Congress."

 

He also said that his decision was not related to a single issue, such as the allocation of an election ticket.

 

"For me, getting a ticket was not a question of life and death. There were multiple issues. What was important for me was to hold my head high. The Congress party has given me a lot," he told the media.

 

"I want to make it very clear that I am in my second term in Lok Sabha, and there are another three years to go. I could have accepted the humiliation if I wanted to remain as an MP. But I decided to leave and work," he added.

 

After Bordoloi’s resignation, Congress fielded his son from the Margherita Assembly constituency for the upcoming elections.

 

Polling for all 126 Assembly seats in Assam will be held in a single phase on April 9, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, according to the Election Commission of India.

 

(With agency inputs)