After quitting BJP, four-time MP Rajen Gohain ready to join Asom Jatiya Parishad

Guwahati, Nov 4: Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Rajen Gohain is set to join the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), days after resigning from all party responsibilities, citing “dissatisfaction with the state BJP’s functioning”.

Sources confirmed that Gohain’s decision to join the regional party has been finalised, with only formalities pending.

“The joining has been confirmed. It is only a matter of time before it is officially announced,” said a source familiar with the development.

On October 9, Gohain stepped down from all BJP roles, expressing discontent with the party’s internal functioning.

In his resignation letter, he referred to an “unfavourable environment” for senior members within the organisation.

Gohain had earlier voiced his dissatisfaction with the way the state BJP was being run.

His resignation coincided with a key BJP election meeting in Dibrugarh, drawing attention to growing unease within the party’s ranks.

Reacting to his exit, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma acknowledged Gohain’s “immense contribution” to the BJP’s growth in Assam, while state BJP president Dilip Saikia remarked that “personal grievances should not come before collective goals.”

A veteran of Assam politics, Gohain joined the BJP in 1991, went on to serve as the party’s state president, and represented Nagaon in the Lok Sabha for four consecutive terms.

He also held the post of Union Minister of State for Railways during the first Narendra Modi government.

Gohain’s imminent switch to the AJP marks a notable defection from the BJP’s old guard, underscoring signs of internal discontent within the party’s Assam unit ahead of the next electoral cycle.