Once a close associate of Sushmita Dev, Dipan Dewanji joins BJP: "Alliance with Ajmal is not secular"

Dipan Dewanji has been working as a trusted person of the Congress party since 1986. However, he could not accept the alliance of Congress with AIUDF party before the assembly elections. The senior Congress worker left the party and joined BJP. He made his BJP debut in Guwahati on Monday in presence of State President Ranjit Das, MP Rajdeep Roy, Minister Parimal Suklabaidya and other party leaders. Meanwhile, former minister Ajit Singh termed Dipan Dewanji as an “unnecessary leader” of the Congress party. However, Sushmita Dev said everyone has the right to find a place of their choice speaking about the induction of Dewanji in the saffron party.

Earlier, Dipan Dewanji had written a letter to state Congress President Ripun Bora informing him of his decision to quit the party. In the letter, he made it clear, “Badaruddin Ajmal is the supremo of AIUDF and is involved with organisations like Jamia-Ulema-e-Hind in Assam. Pakistan Zindabad slogans were chanted in his presence in Silchar. When a person of his stature alligns with Congress, it dents the secular image of Congress. I have been a staunch Congress worker for more than three decades working for the party’s secular ideology. It is not possible to maintain secularism by joining hands with Badaruddin Ajmal. So I am removing myself from all positions in the party.”

However, even though Ajit Singh termed him as an unnecessary person of Congress party, the BJP Pradesh Committee accepted him in a very pompous manner. Even though he joined the BJP before the elections, he is not running for ticket, said Dipan Dewanji. “I have been a politician since my student days. I have been doing politics for Congress all my life and have established myself as a credible name for the party. Today, leaders like Ajit Singh or Pradeep Dey may call me unnecessary, but I have proven myself reliable to veteran leaders like Santosh Mohan Dev and Sushmita Dev. I still have respect for them but can’t ideologically remain in Congress any longer” he told Barak Bulletin in a conversation over phone from Guwahati.

A press conference was held at the Congress party office on Monday afternoon. When reporters asked Sushmita Dev about Dipan Dewanji, former minister Ajit Singh and District Congress President Pradeep Dey came forward to answer. They said, “Dipan Dewanji has been an unnecessary cadre of the District Congress for a long time. He is not significant so there will be no harm if he joins BJP.”

Speaking about Dewanji, Sushmita said, “I don’t think so. If Dipan Dewanji joins the BJP, it is his own freedom. I respect his decision as an individual. And it is not a new thing for leaders to move from one party to another before the elections.”

A few months ago, Rajdeep Goala, the only Congress MLA from Cachar district, joined the BJP. He said he did not join BJP in anticipation of an election ticket, but took the decision after Congress decided to forge an alliance with AIUDF. Dipan Dewanji said almost exactly the same thing. He too is not expecting a ticket, but has joined the BJP due to Ajmal’s merger with the Congress party.

There are also rumors rife around the Congress office that many old Congress leaders like Sharifuzzaman and Tamal Kanti Banik are preparing to wear saffron hats in the future. Only time will tell how many more Congress leaders join as BJP members before the elections.