GUWAHATI: Trinamool Congress faced a major setback in Assam as its state President Ripun Bora announced his resignation from the party, expressing dissatisfaction with its functioning and for ignoring the state leadership.
There are speculations that Bora may rejoin the Congress, which he left over two years ago after losing in a Rajya Sabha election.
In a resignation letter addressed to Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Bora said: "Trinamool Congress has great potential in Assam, but several recurring issues have hindered our progress, including the perception of the Trinamool as a regional party of West Bengal. To counter this perception, we made several suggestions, such as the need for an Assamese leader at the national level, declaring the residence of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika at Tollygunge as a heritage site, and converting the Madhupur Satra at Cooch Behar (the place from where Assam's greatest social reformer Mahapurush Sankar Dev started the Vaishnavite movement) into a cultural hub."
However, he claimed that he has not been able to meet either Abhishek Banerjee and West Bengal Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee in the last one and half years to discuss the Trinamool's prospects in Assam.
“Despite my repeated attempts over the past year and a half to secure an appointment with you and our chief Mamata Didi to address these concerns, I have been unsuccessful," he wrote in the letter.
Bora stated that the people of Assam are not ready to accept a regional party from another state unless it gives immense effort in gaining the confidence of voters. “In light of these challenges and the lack of an adequate resolution, I feel compelled to make a difficult decision and have decided myself to dissociate myself from the Trinamool Congress," he added.
Bora also stressed that he joined the Trinamool two and half years ago anticipating that it may become a viable alternative to the BJP in the state. However, he said that he has now lost hope in Banerjee’s party for taking on the BJP in Assam.
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