Silchar, Feb. 23 -- Former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah on Sunday formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ending his 32-year-long association with the Congress ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. He joined the BJP at the party's state headquarters in Guwahati in the presence of Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia and other senior leaders. The development came days after Borah resigned from the Congress, citing differences with the senior leadership. Soon after joining the BJP, Borah said he had devoted a large part of his political life to the Congress but felt ignored when he faced discrimination within the party. "I reached out to leaders like Rahul Gandhi, but nobody bothered to listen to me or address issues related to the party's ideology," he said, adding that he had not initially left the Congress with the intention of joining the BJP. Borah claimed that more Congress leaders may switch to the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls. "More than 700 leaders in Congress have sought tickets for the Assembly elections. After the party declares its list of candidates, I will give the BJP a list of Congress leaders who are willing to switch," he added. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said, "I welcome him as a BJP member and wish him a successful future."...