Guwahati:

Three Congress leaders in Assam, including a state committee general secretary, resigned from the party on Saturday to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Two of them are understood to be close associates of party candidate Gaurav Gogoi from Jorhat, the outgoing deputy leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, while the third Is the top leader of the Chalradio regional party unit.

Assam Congress Committee (APCC) general secretary Manash Borah, in his resignation letter to the party’s national president, said he resigned to explore new opportunities.

“I believe it is time to explore new opportunities and avenues for the welfare of the people and the country I represent,” said Manash Bora, a member of the All India Congress Committee.

APCC Secretary Gauravv Somani, while resigning as state party chief, said one of the main reasons for his decision was that “the current leadership within the Congress party in Assam is unsatisfactory and it is regrettable that it has not It can effectively solve the pressing problems faced by the people of the state.”

Chaladeo district Congress committee leader Anuj Barkataky also quit the party and joined the BJP.

Manash Borah and Anuj Barkataky, sons of former Congress ministers in the state, along with Somani are campaigning for Gogoi in Jorhat constituency key leaders.

The joining ceremony held at the party headquarters was attended by BJP president Babesh Kalita, cabinet ministers Piyush Hazarika and Jayantha Malabarua and other senior party leaders.

Manash Bora later told reporters that the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attracted him to the party.

He criticized Congress, claiming it had lost touch with its roots and that decisions were made by a handful of people in closed rooms.

“We wanted to serve the people and therefore decided to join a party that is connected to the people,” added Manash Borah, who contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Guwahati.

Meanwhile, another senior Congress leader Kishore Bhattacharya has also reportedly quit the party and may soon join the BJP, sources said.

In the months leading up to the election, a number of key Congress leaders have resigned from the party.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)