Guwahati: Assam Congress leaders have lauded Rahul Gandhi for announcing not to forge any alliance with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).
Assam Congress Working President and MLA, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, said, "AIUDF has been in a secret tie-up with the BJP. If you clearly look at the chain of events, anybody can understand this. The biggest beneficiary in the BJP regime is Badruddin Ajmal. He has expanded his business manifold in the last few years."
He also added that there is no difference between the BJP and the AIUDF.
Another Congress MLA Rana Goswami supported the statement of Purkayastha.
"Badruddin Ajmal and his party were working on Himanta Biswa Sarma's instructions. They tried to mislead the leaders of the INDIA bloc initially and were looking for an entry into the alliance. But the leaders of our party could sense the motive of AUIDF and they were not accommodated in the alliance. No, Rahul Gandhi has cleared every confusion," Goswami said.
Assam Congress President Bhupen Borah said many times that the grand old party will not form any alliance with the AIUDF in the future. He alleged that AIUDF helped the BJP in the 2021 Assembly election to consolidate Hindu votes.
Since its founding in 2005, the AIUDF has played a significant role in Assam politics. They won 18 seats in the 2011 Assembly election, making them the principal opposition party in the state. The number of seats decreased to 13 in 2016, although Badruddin Ajmal's party managed to gain 16 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections. Later, after leaving the party, one of its MLAs won re-election on a BJP ticket.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, AIUDF took three of Assam's 14 MP seats.
In 2019 general election, the vote tally dropped, and only Badruddin Ajmal was able to capture the party stronghold of Dhubri.
To oust the BJP from power in Assam, the Congress and the AIUDF formed a coalition ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. The alliance secured more than 40 members in the 126-member State Assembly, but fell short of the necessary number.
After a snag in Rajya Sabha elections over cross-voting in favour of a BJP candidate, the relationship between the two parties further deteriorated, and Congress denounced the alliance.
—IANS
