Overview
- Gohain formally entered the AJP on November 5 at the PWD Auditorium in Guwahati alongside supporters, with party leaders Lurinjyoti Gogoi, Chitta Basumatary and Jagadish Bhuyan in attendance.
- After joining, he accused the BJP of betraying Assam’s interests, suppressing dissent and promoting what he called “artificial” Hindutva, and he likened the state’s governance to a “monarchical” or “Hitler” rule.
- AJP leaders cast his induction as a boost before next year’s elections and suggested more disaffected figures could follow.
- The 74-year-old is a four-time Nagaon MP, former Assam BJP president and ex-Minister of State for Railways who resigned from the BJP on October 9 citing dissatisfaction with its functioning.
- Coverage links his exit to an old-guard versus new-leadership rift under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and he has argued that regional parties are better placed to protect indigenous communities and address delimitation grievances.