Nine Congress MLAs in Assam are likely to join the BJP tomorrow in Guwahati in the presence of the party national general secretary Ram Madhav. It's a development that will make a serious dent in the ruling Congress party's fortunes in Assam.


The MLAs include Pijush Hazarika, Jayanta Malla Baruah, Pallab Lochan Das, Pradan Barua, Rajen Borthakur, Bolin Chetia, Binanda Saikia, Kripanath Mallah and Abu Taher Bepari. All nine are known to be Dr Himanta Bishwa Sharma loyalists. Sharma is the former Congress minister who had joined the BJP in September this year.


All these nine MLAs had met BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi on September 5 along with Dr Sharma to express their willingness to join the party. The BJP leadership then told the Congress MLAs to wait till the elections in Bihar were over to formalize their Saffronisation.


Dr Sharma while joining the BJP said, "We can bring more MLAs from the Congress as almost all in the Congress barring Tarun Gogoi is willing to join the BJP. But still, everything depends on the absorption capacity of the BJP."


With these nine leaving its fold, the Congress' strength in the 126-member Assam Assembly will be reduced to 69 which will be still be enough for chief minister Tarun Gogoi to retain his chair.


Gogoi has remained unfazed over the desertions and described the BJP as a party which is surviving on leaders and workers borrowed from other parties.


"The BJP has no leaders in Assam. The party is run by one Mahendra Singh in Assam. The BJP needs leaders from various political parties, students and youth organisations to survive in Assam and yet it hopes to win power in the state," Gogoi quipped.


-- K Anurag in Guwahati