“No Government in Assam Could be Formed Without the AIUDF”
Perfume baron and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) supremo Badruddin Ajmal before the 2016 Assam Assembly Elections blatantly claimed that his party would bag 30-35 seats in the 126-member assembly and no party can form government in Assam with their support.
However, things did not go according to plan for Ajmal. His dream of becoming the kingmaker in the tug-of-war between the BJP and Congress came crashing down when the AIUDF could bag just 13 seats, five less than their previous reign.
Now, with the Assembly Elections in Assam around the corner, the AIUDF supremo’s dreams of becoming a major stakeholder in the political scenario of Assam has resurfaced. However, this time the stakes have changed and so does Ajmal’s election strategies.
The AIUDF chief is now focusing on being in power by any means necessary even if it means joining hands with AIUDF’s ‘big brother’ the Indian National Congress.
As a matter of fact, AIUDF has made it clear that its president and Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal was not in the race for the Chief Minister’s post. The party even went on to say that it views Congress as its big brother and someone from the Congress will be a CM candidate.
Meanwhile, the AIUDF chief infamous for his ‘Back door’ pacts with the political parties’ right before the elections, has been alleged of fabricating secret pacts with the Congress in Assam multiple times. In fact, BJP leaders pointed out that in the 2019 general elections, the AIUDF did not field a candidate against Gaurav Gogoi, son of Tarun Gogoi, in the Kaliabor constituency. And as a result, Gaurav won the seat. The BJP has alleged a secret Congress-AIUDF pact in Assam multiple times.
However, on the contrary, speaking exclusively to Headline8, a source close to the AIUDF chief said, “Ajmal made an informal agreement with the BJP during the last Assembly Elections to field strong candidates in minority-dominated areas to divide the vote share, which heavily benefitted the BJP and resulted in the Congress losing out on many seats.”
As a matter of fact, Senior Congress leader Tarun Gogoi too admitted that due to the AIUDF putting candidates against the Congress in the 2016 assembly polls, they lost as many as 30 seats.
The AIUDF has been gobbling up the minority support base of congress since 2006. So an alliance with the party would be a big boost for Congress in attracting the minority voters which accounts for about 35 percent. On the other hand, the alliance provides AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal the perfect opportunity to fulfill his long term dream of becoming the kingmaker in Dispur.
With the political scenario in Assam changing due to the formation of new regional micro-political parties, both Congress-AIUDF could benefit from the symbiotic relationship. The alliance might be the one and only resort for both the parties to get into power in the upcoming Assembly elections.