Former Union Minister and four-time BJP MP from Nagaon, Rajen Gohain, has resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The resignation comes just months ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections.
In a 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. He cited the party’s “failure to fulfil the promises made to the people of Assam” and expressed concern over what he called the “betrayal of indigenous communities by allowing outsiders to settle in the state.”
Gohain, a prominent face of the BJP in Assam, represented the Nagaon parliamentary constituency for four consecutive terms from 1999 to 2019. He also served as the Union Minister of State for Railways from 2016 to 2019. In his statement, he emphasized the weakening of community-based rights in Assam, particularly focusing on the Ahom community. “The largest community in Assam is the Ahom community. In 30, 35, or 40 seats, the Ahoms played a decisive role. Now, if community-based rights are removed in any constituency, no community will have any rights there. Today, no one can claim a seat on the basis of community. All communities have been broken and weakened. Wasn’t the Ahom community Hindu? What is the purpose of weakening the Ahom community?” he questioned. 
