GUWAHATI: Ripun Bora has resigned as State President. In a letter to TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, the development underlines how the veteran politician has communicated his decision. It also goes on to show that the party faces an uphill task in establishing itself securely in Assam.
Bora, since the responsibility of Assam TMC was given to him in April 2022, worked tirelessly to extend the party into every nook and corner of the state. And such was his membership drive in just six months that the party started functioning in 31 out of the 35 districts of Assam. In fact, representation at the grassroots level was also provided by creating various wings through SC, OBC, Human Rights, and Minority cells to firm up the party's standing with the different communities.
However, Bora's tenure was not devoid of hiccups. The party, despite garnering massive support through various agitational programs against the BJP, under-performed in the Lok Sabha elections. He had given a detailed presentation on this very issue to the TMC leadership in the hope that the insights would be useful. Still, the most formidable challenge for him, he said, was the perception of TMC being a West Bengal party, which was hard to overcome.
In his resignation letter, Bora unfolded his suggested prescriptions for bridging such a perception gap. These include proposals on initiatives like making an Assamese leader get a national role, turning Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhupen Hazarika's residence in Tollygunge into a heritage site, and converting the Madhupur Satra at Cooch Behar into a cultural hub reflecting Assam's rich Vaishnavite tradition. He had repeatedly tried to discuss these ideas with the top brass of the party, but nothing came out of it-just silence.
Respect and frustration mark the tone of Bora's letter. While wanting to show his deep regard for Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee while acknowledging their leadership against fascist and communal forces, he underlined the difficulties he had faced due to the party not being responsive to the particular challenges in Assam.
In effect, Bora felt the leadership of TMC was not providing enough support to overcome these regional obstacles. His exit is a major blow to the ambitious plans of TMC in Assam-a demonstration of how tricks get worse when trying to expand a party's influence outside its traditional bastions. While he will step away from the job, Bora said his commitment to fighting against communal forces remains very strong.
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