In a political turn just months ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, former Union Minister and four-time Nagaon MP Rajen Gohain resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, marking the end of a nearly three-decade-long association with the saffron party.
In his resignation letter addressed to Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia, Gohain announced that he was stepping down from the party’s primary membership and relinquishing all organizational responsibilities with immediate effect.
Alongside Gohain, 17 other BJP members, largely from Upper and Central Assam, also tendered their resignations, signaling a wave of internal dissent within the state unit.
Gohain said his decision stemmed from what he described as the BJP’s “failure to fulfil the promises made to the people of Assam” and its “betrayal of indigenous communities by allowing outsiders to settle in the state.”
He accused the party of deviating from its ideological commitment to safeguard the rights and identity of Assam’s native population.
A prominent figure in Assam’s political landscape, Gohain represented the Nagaon parliamentary constituency for four consecutive terms—from 1999 to 2019—and served as Union Minister of State for Railways in the Narendra Modi-led government (2016–2019).
Known for his strong grassroots connect and advocacy of Assamese identity issues, Gohain had in recent years openly expressed displeasure over certain state-level decisions of the BJP, including its handling of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and alleged factionalism within the party.
Political observers note that Gohain’s exit is likely to intensify unease within the BJP’s Assam unit, which is already facing internal friction over candidate selection, local leadership dominance, and the balancing of ethnic and regional aspirations.