Guwahati, Nov 5: Former Union Minister and four-time BJP MP Rajen Gohain joined the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) on Wednesday, nearly a month after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Gohain officially became part of the regional party at a programme in Guwahati, attended by AJP president Lurinjyoti Gohain and general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan. The 74-year-old former Nagaon MP served as Union Minister of State for Railways from 2016 to 2019.

He had stepped down from the BJP on October 9, citing the party’s failure to uphold promises to Assam’s indigenous communities. He also criticised the BJP’s state leadership for allegedly encouraging communal politics and creating divisions within Assamese society.

The move comes ahead of the Assam Assembly elections scheduled for next year.