Former BJP leader and Assam politician Nandita Gorlosa has joined the Congress after being denied a ticket for the single-phase assembly election on April 9.
Gorlosa had submitted her resignation to Assam BJP Dilip Saikia, stepping down from her ministerial post and primary party membership.
She is an MLA from the Haflong ST constituency.
She was not given a ticket by the BJP for the upcoming elections. The ticket was given instead to newcomer Rupali Langthsa as part of the party's larger plan, which involved dropping a number of incumbent MLAs from the candidate list. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had visited the Dima Hasao district and said that the 18 sitting MLAs would be denied tickets and given different responsibilities.
The Congress took this as a chance to change their candidate for the constituency of Haflong at the last minute.
Assam Congress shared a photograph of Gorlosa joining the party. She joined the party in the presence of senior leaders in the party, including Assam Congress general secretary Nirmal Langthasa. "We are very happy to announce that Smt Nandita Garlosa has joined the Congress party. She has been the voice of Dima Hasao for the last five years, and she has always stood for her beliefs and principles," the Congress said in their post on X.
The party said that Gorlosa was removed because the BJP was trying to sell tribal land to a corporation."She paid the price for this in the BJP because Himanta Biswa Sarma is only interested in selling the land of the tribals to large corporations," the party statement added. "She paid the price for this in the BJP because Himanta Biswa Sarma is only interested in selling the land of the tribals to large corporations," the party statement added.
Congress also confirmed that Gorlosa will be fielded as its candidate from the Haflong constituency. "Congress will declare her as our candidate for the Haflong seat tomorrow," the statement noted.
Born on May 13 1977, she belongs to the Haflong in the hill district of Dima Hasao and has a strong influence among tribal communities in the constituency. Nadita Gorlosa has been representing the Haflong constituency since 2021.
She won the assembly elections on a BJP ticket.
She then took up a cabinet role and took charge of portfolios like mines and minerals and tribal faith, and culture.
Gorlosa has gained a prominent position in the hill region of Assam and has a considerable amount of support from the tribal population.
Her sudden joining of the Congress party could be a deciding factor in the outcome of the election in the Haflong constituency, which is a major part of the state's Dima Hasao district.
In Assam, the Congress is in an alliance with Sam Jatiya Parishad, Raijor Dal, CPI(M), CPI(ML), and the All-Party Hill Leaders Conference.