Guwahati, Dec. 14: Former AGP minister Zoiinath Sarmah today joined the Congress, saying the people of Assam were fed with up with the regional party.

Sarmah, once a strong critic of the Congress, said he was confident of fighting for the cause of regionalism by remaining within the ruling national party in the state.

"There is a difference between regionalism and regional party. I had decided to put a full stop to my long emotional stint with the AGP after realising that it is not true that only a regional party can serve the cause of regionalism. I believe in regionalism and continue to believe till my last breath. I am confident that the Congress will enable me in much better ways to serve regionalism," Sarmah said soon after joining the Congress at a function held at Rajiv Bhawan here this afternoon.

Sarmah claimed that he would be able to recruit 30,000 to 40,000 people from Darrang district as new Congress members by January.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who was present at the function, said Sarmah would prove to be an asset for the Congress and be one of the factors in the party's victory in the 2016 Assembly polls. The Congress had started talking to one of the leading lights of Assam Movement around five months back to check incumbent Sipajhar MLA Binanda Saikia, who was in the Himanta Biswa Sarma camp which had unsuccessfully tried to oust Gogoi as chief minister.

Like Himanta, Saikia too switched over to the BJP last month along with eight other Congress MLAs. The Congress has disqualified all the defectors under the anti-defection law but so far none of them have resigned.

Zoiinath was the chief convener of AASU's volunteer force during the Assam Movement, which culminated in the 1985 Assam Accord. He first became an AGP MLA in 1985.

Though reactions have been mixed in Sipajhar, Sarmah, who is likely to be fielded as the Congress candidate, is expected to give a tough fight to Saikia to whom he had lost two successive elections since 2006. In the last Assembly election, which he had contested as an Independent, Sarmah had polled over 40,000 votes compared to Saikia's 50,000-plus votes.

Sarmah's influence within the AGP started to wane after his first loss in 2006. The infighting for the top leadership post in the party also did not help matters. He did not return to the AGP after contesting as an Independent in 2011 but continued to be associated with regional forces.

"Zoiinath's base is more or less intact. Moreover, he also enjoys a rapport with the Muslim voters. If a section of Congressmen is unhappy with his joining the party, a section of BJPsupporters is also angry with (Binanda) Saikia," a Congress insider said.