Assam: Former ULFA (I) Leader Dristi Rajkhowa to Join BJP

GUWAHATI: Ex-United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) commander Dristi Rajkhowa, aka Manoj Rabha, has declared that he will join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam.

Rajkhowa said talks for his induction into the party are ongoing and that he is taking cues from Tankeswar Rabha, Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council.

Rajkhowa, a close aide of ULFA (I) commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, has been associated with the militant group for a long time. He joined the group in 1989 and became the commander of the 109 Battalion of ULFA (I) by 2011. He later emerged as the deputy commander-in-chief of the proscribed organization in November 2020.

But after nearly three decades of being with ULFA (I), Rajkhowa surrendered to the Indian Army's Red Horns Division in November 2020, along with four of his bodyguards. His surrender was considered a key development in the security scenario of the Northeast, considering his central role in various rebel operations.

Rajkhowa was infamous for masterminding several attacks in the northeastern sector and was a key arms supplier to different insurgent organizations. He was also a figure of influence among Garo insurgents and had operated from bases in neighboring Bangladesh before his surrender.

After leaving behind his militant life, Rajkhowa has been into agriculture and social work. He has also been very actively involved in engaging the unemployed youth by encouraging them in agriculture-based and animal husbandry-based industries such as banana, lemon, fish, and pig farming. His metamorphosis from being a militant leader to becoming a social worker has been closely followed, and his move towards joining mainstream politics by becoming a part of the BJP is another important change in his life.

With Rajkhowa's announcement, political analysts in Assam are following the events closely, as his joining of the BJP could have political as well as social repercussions in the state.

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