"There's no possibility of Bhupendra Kumar leaving Congress," says party's Abdur Rashid Mandal on CM's statement

Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 26 : In response to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's statement, Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal said that Bhupendra Kumar is the most successful president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), so there is no possibility of him leaving the party.
"Many leaders from other parties are also joining the Congress; some are from the BJP as well.
So, talking about our party president, Bhupendra Kumar, joining the BJP is not at all true. He is the most successful president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee. He is fighting for Congress, for the poor, and for the interests of the people. He is on the right path to fight. So, there is no possibility at all that he will leave Congress and join BJP, as told by our Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma. This is election time, so he is making political statements to demoralize the Congress leaders and the Congress voters too," Abdur Rashid Mandal said.
Earlier on March 25, the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, claimed that Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Kumar Borah will join the BJP in the first part of 2025.
"I have made ready two seats for him (Bhupen Kumar Borah). All Trinamool members of Congress will join us. If I dial the candidate (Congress) for Sonitpur, he will join the BJP. But I don't want this. As of now, the Assam Congress is in our hands. It is just like a fixed deposit, when needed, we will bring it. When it is needed for Modiji, we will take them. Except for 1-2 blue-blooded dynasties, all red-blooded dynasties are ours," CM Sarma said.
Abdur Rashid Mandal staunchly defended the party's influence in Assam, dismissing any notion of intimidation.
"Our CM is talking about the intimidation of the Congress party in the state of Assam; this is not possible because Congress is in the blood of each and every Indian as well as in the blood of each and every Assamese. Congress fought with the Britishers and brought independence to this country. So, the Congress party can't be intimidated," Abdur Rashid Mandal said.
Addressing concerns over the upcoming elections, Mandal refrained from speculating on seat numbers but expressed optimism about the party's prospects.
"I will not comment on the number of seats Congress will win here, but the performance of the Congress party will be better than it was in 2019 because some powerful leaders are nominated by the party this time. I am very confident that four seats will be won by Congress, so our count starts after 4," Abdur Rashid Mandal said.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also claimed on Monday that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's future is 'dark', adding that by 2026, there will be no more of the grand old party in the state.
"Voting for the Congress party means voting for Rahul Gandhi; voting for BJP means voting for Narendra Modi. Those who love Narendra Modi and believe that India will become Viswaguru will vote for the BJP in this election. Those who believe in the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, also know that their future is dark. Even Rahul Gandhi's future is also dark and his followers' future is darker," CM Sarma said while speaking to reporters at Biswanath on Monday.
"In the last one and a half months, you have seen a big erosion of Congress as many Congress leaders, workers joined the BJP and AGP. I believe that there will be no Congress party in Assam by 2026. I don't want to comment on Bharat Narah, because I am not in touch with him. But I believe that there will be no more of the Congress party in Assam by 2026, they will survive only in some small pockets," he added.
The Assam Chief Minister also said many more good leaders will continue to join the BJP till the Lok Sabha election, and this joining process will be continued after the Lok Sabha election.