GUWAHATI, Feb 23 - Former BJP MP RP Sarmah will join the opposition Congress party soon. Speaking to The Assam Tribune on Sunday, the former Lok Sabha member from Tezpur constituency said he will formally join the Congress in New Delhi in a few days. �Things are final. I will be joining the Congress. There will be a joining programme in New Delhi and another one later in Guwahati,� he said.
Sarmah, who had resigned from the BJP last year after being overlooked for renomination during the Lok Sabha elections, served as the Lok Sabha MP from Tezpur constituency from 2014 to 2019
�I sacrificed a lot for the BJP. I was associated with the RSS since 1976 and with the BJP since 1991. Old BJP hands like me dedicated our life to building the party in Assam. During the last panchayat elections, I had campaigned widely in various places... Yet I was not only ignored during the time of elections but even my name did not figure in the panel of probable candidates sent to New Delhi. The new BJP does not value contributions of old hands like me,� he said.
Sarmah said he will now work with the same dedication for the Congress. �The Congress will bounce back to power in Assam in the 2021 Assembly elections with at least 80 seats,� he said.
Congress sources, meanwhile, said Sarmah�s entry into the party will help it regain the support base among the Gorkha community, which has a strong presence in many parts of the Brahmaputra Valley.