A number of key Congress leaders have resigned from the party ahead of elections. (Representational))
Three Congress leaders of Assam, including a state committee general secretary, resigned from the party on Saturday and joined the ruling BJP.
Two of them were known to be close associates of the party candidate from Jorhat, Gaurav Gogoi, who is the deputy leader of opposition in the outgoing Lok Sabha, while the third was a top leader of the Charaideo district party unit.
Manash Borah, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) general secretary, in his resignation letter to the party national president, said he was quitting to explore new opportunities.
"I believe it is time for me to explore new opportunities and avenues for welfare of the people and the state I represent," Manash Borah, who was also a member of the All India Congress Committee, said.
APCC secretary Gauravv Somani, in his resignation to the state party chief, said one of the primary reasons for his decision was "unsatisfactory leadership presently within the Assam Congress, which has regrettably failed to effectively address the pressing issues faced by the people of the state".
Leader of Charaideo district Congress committee Anuj Barkataky also quit the party and joined the BJP.
Manash Borah and Anuj Barkataky are sons of former Congress ministers in the state, and along with Somani, were key leaders in Gogoi's campaign in the Jorhat constituency.
State BJP president Bhabesh Kalita, cabinet ministers Pijush Hazarika and Jayanta Mallabaruah and other senior party leaders were present at the joining ceremony at the party headquarters here.
Speaking to reporters later, Manash Borah said the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had attracted him to the party.
Criticising the Congress, he claimed that it has lost touch with the roots, and decisions were taken by a handful of people in closed rooms.
"We want to work for the people and hence, have decided to join a party connected with the people," Manash Borah, who had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Guwahati on a Congress ticket, added.
Meanwhile, another senior Congress leader Kishore Bhattacharya has also reportedly quit the party and is likely to join the BJP soon, sources said.
A number of key Congress leaders have resigned from the party in the months leading to the general elections.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)