![\"Resignation](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-128448372,imgsize-52180,width-400,resizemode-4\/gaurav-gogoi-bhupen-borah-himanta-biswa-sarma.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma<\/a> on Monday invited former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah to join the BJP<\/a>, hours after Borah submitted his resignation from the party, triggering political upheaval in the poll-bound state.Sarma said the BJP\u2019s doors were open for Borah and promised to help him get elected from a \u201csafe seat\u201d if he joined. He also announced that he would visit Borah\u2019s residence to discuss his future plans.\u201cIf he wants to join the BJP, we will welcome him, but even if he does not want to do so, we extend our best wishes to him,\u201d Sarma told reporters.Sarma described Borah as the \u201clast Hindu leader\u201d in the Congress without a family background holding ministerial or legislative posts and said his resignation sent a larger message about internal democracy in the party.\u201cHis resignation carries the symbolic message that in the Congress, no one from a normal family can prosper. Congress does not give recognition to people from ordinary families, but I hail from an ordinary middle-class family and the BJP has made me a chief minister. We stay opposite to the politics of blue blood,\u201d he said.Drawing a parallel with his own political journey, Sarma added, \u201cEven Sarma was forced to leave the party as he was not made CM despite the support of 58 MLAs. Is this internal democracy? How long will this kind of politics continue? Somebody has to raise their voice, and I have done so.\u201dIn Guwahati, senior Congress leaders maintained that Borah had reconsidered his decision following intervention by the party high command.AICC Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh said party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi had spoken to Borah.\u201cThe party leadership has discussed the matter with Borah. Rahul Gandhi also spoke to him for 15 minutes,\u201d Singh told reporters outside Borah\u2019s residence.\u201cThis is our internal matter; we discussed in detail about the issues bothering him and I thank him for agreeing to withdraw his resignation,\u201d he said.However, Borah clarified that he had only sought time to reconsider.\u201cMy old colleagues and the party’s central leadership came to my house, and I respect them. I have sought time till tomorrow morning so that I can talk to my family and take a decision in this regard,\u201d he said.In a late-night interaction, Borah confirmed that he had sent his resignation after 32 years in the party.\u201cThe resignation letter has been sent, but the central leadership has said it will not accept it,\u201d Borah said, adding, \u201cI cannot give directions to the central leadership, but I have asked for time to think about it and will inform them by tomorrow.\u201dHe said he was consulting senior leaders and well-wishers before taking a final call.\u201cMany senior leaders and colleagues have asked me to consider all aspects, but nobody has said that I did anything wrong by sending the resignation letter,\u201d he said.Responding to Sarma\u2019s statement about visiting his residence, Borah said, \u201cIf any CM wants to visit my home, it is a matter of pride for me.\u201dBorah, who served as Assam Congress president from 2021 to 2025 and was replaced by Gaurav Gogoi last year, has been a two-time MLA.Senior Congress leaders including Gogoi, MP Pradyut Bordoloi, Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia and other MLAs met Borah after he sent his resignation letter to Kharge, alleging that he was being \u201cignored\u201d by the party leadership and not being accorded his due in the state unit.Gogoi described Borah as a \u201cpillar of strength\u201d for the party.\u201cI apologise to him as a younger brother if he felt hurt due to certain issues in the party,\u201d he said.The United Opposition Forum, Assam, also appealed to Borah to stay. Its spokesperson and Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi said the forum would not allow him to switch sides.\u201cNo one from the united opposition will let him join the BJP even if PM Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah comes. He was, is and will remain with us. Who will let him go…we will carry him everywhere with us,\u201d Gogoi said.He alleged that the Chief Minister was trying to create confusion by suggesting Borah would join the BJP but added, \u201cthis will not happen…we will not let it happen.\u201dWith Borah seeking time until Tuesday morning to take a final decision, his political future remains uncertain, even as the BJP steps up its outreach and the Congress leadership attempts to contain the fallout ahead of the Assembly polls.<\/div>\n\n