Kabindra Purkayastha’s Last Rites Tomorrow at DSA Silchar: Rupam Saha

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and founder of the party in Assam, Kabindra Purkayastha, passed away on Wednesady (January 7) evening, leaving the BJP and the people of Barak Valley in deep shock. Remembered as the guiding force behind the party’s rise in the region, Purkayastha played a decisive role in the BJP’s landslide victory in Barak Valley in 1991.

Expressing grief over his demise, Rupam Saha, Cachar District President of the BJP, said the loss was irreparable. “BJP’s stalwart leader, our guide and the founder of BJP in Assam, is no more with us. We are shocked at his passing. Tomorrow, we shall keep his mortal remains at our party office at 9:00 am for shraddhanjali and then take the body of the dear departed to Silchar DSA so that everyone can pay their final tributes. A procession will then take his mortal remains to the Silchar Smashan Ghat for the final rites. The district president and all party leaders have been informed,” Saha said.

Senior BJP leaders from Guwahati are expected to reach Silchar on January 8, 2026, to pay their last respects. Assam Minister and senior BJP leader Kaushik Rai reached Silchar Medical College and Hospital to pay homage to the departed leader.

Family members are present at SMCH, including his son, Rajya Sabha MP Kanad Purkayastha, who rushed to Silchar from Delhi earlier in the evening upon receiving news of his father’s demise.

In an emotional Facebook post, Kanad Purkayastha expressed gratitude to the medical team at SMCH. “I express my profound gratitude to all the doctors of SMCH, led by Dr Abhijit Swami, along with senior and junior doctors, medical students, nursing staff, paramedics and all concerned, who put in their best possible efforts to revive my father’s health. For 16 long and trying days, you stood firmly by our side with dedication, compassion and professionalism. It was destiny that, despite all sincere and tireless efforts, God chose to take my father onto His lap at 5:05 pm today,” he wrote.

Kabindra Purkayastha’s passing marks the end of an era in Assam politics. Widely regarded as the patriarch of the Assam BJP, his legacy continues to inspire generations of party workers and leaders across the Northeast.