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Bhupen Borah joined the BJP today wearing the same jacket he wore when he was attacked in 2024 Photograph: (Screengrabs from video on X/BJP Assam Pradesh)
Former Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah on Sunday officially closed a chapter of his life and began a new one as he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ending a closely-watched saga in the state’s political landscape. However, what stood out today was his choice of clothing. Clad in all-white, Borah was seen sporting a light brown waistcoat—interestingly, the same one he was wearing when he faced a vicious assault in 2024.
Borah said that it was a deliberate move. He wanted the people of Assam to decide whether the blood he shed on January 21, 2024, in Sootea, was valued or not. He feels the day could have turned out to be much worse, but Congress did appreciate his efforts.
Speaking after officially joining the BJP today, Bhupen Borah said, “After I resigned from the Congress, when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma came to my home, the Congress party trolled me a lot with a photo of my bloody face. This is the same jacket I was wearing on that day, and it also had blood on it.”
Could Have Died: Borah
“I had called Rahul Gandhi to Assam for an eight-day Bharat Jodo Yatra from Jorhat to Golakganj in Dhubri. It was the third day when, suddenly, near Sootea, around 500 people attacked us. Rahul Gandhi was outside the car when the mob tried to attack him, but I stepped forward and took the hit. The SP then came and took Rahul Gandhi away on the bus, but I was left behind and was brutally attacked,” he said, detailing the events of the day.
Visuals had by then surfaced of his bloodied face and clothes. Borah said that he could have died that day, which he felt was not respected afterwards. “There was blood on my clothes, my handkerchief, and this jacket. Everything was red,” he said.
“That is why I wore this to the BJP office today. I wanted the people of Assam to see that the party to which I gave 32 years, in front of Rahul Gandhi, I shed blood to protect him. If there had been an explosion or if firearms had been used, I would have died. The videos are still out there. Was that bloodshed valued? The people of Assam will decide,” Borah concluded.
Also Read: Former Congress Leader Bhupen Borah Officially Joins BJP