GUWAHATI, Sept 15 - Former Congress Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), today formally resigned from the membership of the Assam Legislative Assembly.
Sarma met the Assam Assembly Speaker Pranab Gogoi at his official residence this afternoon to formally hand over his resignation letter. However, it remains to be seen whether the Election Commission decides to go for re-polling in Jalukbari constituency represented by Sarma at a time when there is less than a year to go for the elections to the State Assembly.
Talking to The Assam Tribune after submitting his resignation letter, Sarma said that as he was elected to the Assembly on a Congress ticket, it was up to the Congress to apply to the Speaker seeking his disqualification. �I waited for 15 days after joining the BJP. But as the Congress did not move the Speaker, I decided to submit my resignation as technically I was a Congress legislator,� he added.
Sarma said that nine other legislators have expressed their support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi but it is still not decided as to when they would join the BJP. He said that some other Congressmen including legislators are willing to join the BJP and it is up to the leaders of the BJP to decide whether they wanted to take the legislators into the party.
The former Congress minister also handed over a letter addressed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to the Assembly Speaker. He said that he gave a detailed account of the political situation in the State in the letter.
