A Turning Point Ahead? Senior BJP Leader Rajen Gohain Likely to Join AJP Tomorrow

In a major political twist, former Union Minister and four-time Nagaon MP Rajen Gohain is likely to join the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) on Wednesday.

The joining ceremony will be held at the Public Works Department (PwD) building in Dispur in the presence of AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi. Confirming the development, Gogoi said, “We welcome Rajen Gohain to the Assam Jatiya Parishad. His joining will further strengthen the party and the regional movement in Assam. Regionalism is the only alternative to address the national issues that concern our state. This is just the beginning.”

Rajen Gohain, a senior BJP leader who had represented the erstwhile Nowgong constituency (now Nagaon) for four consecutive terms since 1999, had formally resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on October 9, 2025. Expressing deep dissatisfaction with the party’s leadership in Assam, he submitted his resignation at the BJP headquarters—Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan.

Also Read: Assam: Senior BJP Leader Rajen Gohain quits party, cites dissatisfaction

A former Minister of State for Railways during the first Modi government in 2016 and a former state BJP president, Gohain had accused the party of straying from its founding principles.

Speaking to the media at the time of his resignation, he said, “I have been patient for a long time, but it is highly dissatisfying. We did not join this party to watch people’s faces. We came here to uphold the ideals of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani. Now the party has gone into someone else’s hands. Only a regional party can serve Assam’s interests.”

Taking a sharp dig at the state leadership, Gohain added, “The BJP has become the main enemy of the Assamese. I am not a self-sacrificing person, nor can I amass wealth like the current state BJP president Dilip Saikia. The Chief Minister listens to no one and does as he pleases.”

Notably, in 2023, Gohain had also resigned as chairman of the Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation in protest against the delimitation of the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency, which he claimed would make it “unwinnable” for the BJP in future elections.

His formal induction into the AJP is being viewed as a major boost to the regional party and a reflection of growing discontent within the BJP’s Assam unit ahead of the next polls.