HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Sept 1: The Trinamool Congress suffered a major jolt on Sunday as its Assam unit chief Ripun Bora resigned from the primary membership of the party.
Bora joined Mamata Banerjee’s party two and half years ago and he led TMC in this year’s Lok Sabha polls in the state.
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However, for the last few days, it was speculated that Bora might return to the Congress party which he had left after losing Rajya Sabha polls.
Bora wrote a two-page resignation letter to Lok Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee where he has outlined the reason behind his abrupt departure from the party.
“Assam TMC has great potential, but several recurring issues have hindered our progress, including the perception of TMC as a regional party of West Bengal. To counter this perception, we made several suggestions, such as the need for an Assamese leader at the national level, declaring the residence of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika at Tollygunge as a heritage site, and converting the Madhupur Satra at Cooch Behar (the place from where Assam’s greatest social reformer Mahapurush Sankar Dev started the Vaishnavite movement) into a cultural hub,” he wrote.
The former Rajya Sabha MP also alleged that he has failed to secure an appointment with Abhishek Banerjee and West Bengal chief minister in the last one and half year to discuss TMC’s prospects in Assam.
“Despite my repeated attempts over the past year and a half to secure an appointment with you and our chief Mamata Didi to address these concerns, I have been unsuccessful,” he mentioned.
In Assam, the voters see Trinamool Congress as a regional party operating from another state. Bora has also accepted this fact in his letter stating that people of Assam are not ready to accept a regional party from another state unless it gives immense effort in gaining the confidence of voters.
Another source said the leadership was not happy with Bora, especially after the performance of TMC in Assam in the Lok Sabha polls. The TMC has contested from four Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam and secured only 0.37 per cent vote share.
It has been widely speculated that Bora will soon join the Congress party although he has not mentioned about his next move yet. But the former Rajya Sabha MP has already met with his supporters in his home constituency in Gohpur about possible shifting of political sides.
PTI adds from Delhi: Meanwhile, following Bora quitting the party on Sunday, party sources said its Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Dev will go to Guwahati soon to meet the state office bearers.
“MP Sushmita Dev will be going to Guwahati in the next few days to meet TMC office bearers,” a party source said after Bora’s resignation.
The TMC has been keen on expanding its presence in the northeastern states. It got a boost recently when Meghalaya TMC chief Mukul Sangma became the leader of opposition in the state assembly.
The TMC has five MLAs in Meghalaya including Sangma.
