In the run up to the Assam Assembly polls, nothing had generated more buzz than the dramatic turn of events leading to veteran Congress leader Pradyot Bordoloi turning into a BJP candidate just two days after quitting the grand old party.

Bordoloi pulled off a massive victory from the prestigious Dispur constituency against his Congress rival Mira Barthakur Goswami by 49,667 votes.

Nagaon MP and ex-minister Bordoloi was the most prominent among a slew of Congress turncoats who joined the BJP ahead of the state elections. The BJP fielded him from Dispur just a day after he switched to the party in March. This move had caused some friction within the BJP, leading to the exit of a senior party leader Jayanta Kumar Das, who went on to challenge Bordoloi as an Independent from the seat. However, Jayanta’s rebellion and the challenge mounted by Congress candidate Goswami, the Assam Mahila Congress leader, could not counter the BJP wave that ensured Bordoloi’s success.

Another prominent Congress turncoat ahead of the elections was Bhupen Borah, former Assam Congress president, who crossed over to the BJP in February. He won from the Bihpuria constituency by over 8,000 votes against the Congress’s Narayan Bhuyan. Congress turncoat Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, the former Assam Congress working president, also seems to be headed towards a big win.