Assam: Secret Poll-Pact Between Congress and AIUDF!

| Monalisa Gogoi - 25 Mar 2019

Assam: Secret Poll-Pact Between Congress and AIUDF!

Once it was the main opposition party of Assam, but now it doesn't dare to contest more than 3 seats.

By Monalisa Gogoi

Bureau Chief, NE, Indian Observer Post

Guwahati, March 25, 2019: A day after Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Ram Madhav on Sunday said that the Congress has forged an “unholy alliance” with perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) to stop the BJP in Assam, Assam’s perfume baron Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF on Monday announced that it will field candidates in only three Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam to “stop division of secular votes”, raising hopes of the Congress that the votes of the AIUDF would be transferred to it even as it denied any understanding.

“We want to make sure that the secular vote doesn’t get divided,” Aminul Islam, General Secretary of AIUDF said on Monday. He said that the party will be contesting from Dhubri, Barpeta and Karimganj, the three seats it won in 2014. Party chief and perfume baron Ajmal would be again contesting from Dhubri while his brother Sirajuddin Ajmal, the sitting MP from Barpeta has not been fielded this time.

In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party, which has its support mostly among Bengali Muslim voters, cornered an impressive 15% votes in the 10 constituencies it contested out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam. In the 2011 Assembly polls, it emerged as the principal opposition party in Assam.

Congress party, the main opposition party in Assam, has already geared up for the ensuing parliamentary election. The party has already declared their candidature for ten parliamentary constituencies.

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The party has fielded some strong candidates for those constituencies. Among those candidates three are former parliamentarian.

Present Rajyasabha MP and former APCC president Bhubaneswar Kalita is the candidate from Mongoldoi constituency while the BJP has given candidature to the party spokesperson Dilip Saikia.

Gaurav Gogoi, present MP from Kaliabor constituency is the son of former CM Tarun Gogoi and Monimadhab Mahanta is the candidate from AGP-BJP alliance of the sameness.
Mahanta, who was former vice president of AASU and he resigned from the same last week to join AGP and to contest from Kaliabor parliamentary constituency.

It is important to mention here that Mahanta is the brother of present AGP minister Keshab Mahanta.

AIUDF led by Maulana Badaruddin Azmal has a strong-hold at Kaliabor and it was expected that they would declare their candidature for the same by Monday as it was the last day for submission of nomination for the first phase.

Addressing media in Guwahati on Monday Aminul Islam, the party General Secretary said “The party has decided to contest at three seats at those constituencies at which they have their winning capacity. Their only aim is to defeat BJP and its alliance and so they do not want to destroy and divide their vote. We have no alliance or understanding with Congress and the Congress party will decide their own candidature. But we do not want to create obstacle at Kaliabor, Mongoldoi and Nagaon."

Replying to a question on the alliance with Congress party, Aminul Islam said, “We were trying for an alliance (with the Congress) since we are all opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, However, the attempts were unsuccessful.”

Earlier this month, AIUDF Chief Badruddin Ajmal had hinted there had been a conversation with the Congress. “There is no clarity. I can’t say that we haven’t spoken; neither can I say that we have, because I don’t trust them. If I say something, they will come out and deny it,” Ajmal had said.

“AIUDF is already a part of Mahagathbandhan and rubbished the BJP’s claims that the AIUDF and the Congress had an agreement,” said Aminul Islam.

The most important development as of today is that present Minister of State (Railway) Rajen Gohain who is also an aspiring candidate from Nagaon parliamentary constituency has got clean chit from Guwahati High Court regarding his sex scandal because of which Gohain declared last week that he would not contest in this lok sabha election for this ongoing case.

But today after High court's clearance, Rajen Gohain has informed his central leadership about the development and to grant his candidature for the same.

Meanwhile, another former APCC president Pawan Singh Ghatowar is contesting from Dibrugarh parliamentary constituency and BJP and its alliance has offered candidature to the present MP Rameswar Teli. Both are strong leaders of tea tribe.

In one another important development, BJP has given Lok Sabha Ticket to present minister in the state government Tapan Gogoi from Jorhat parliamentary constituency while the party had removed the name of Kamakhya Tasa who is present MP from the same.

On the other hand, Sushanta Burhagohain from Congress is the candidate for Jorhat, the constituency which was led by late Bijay Krishna Handique from Congress for four times at a stretch.

AIUDF has no strong base in upper Assam while they have a strong base in middle Assam and lower part of Assam.

The party has a strong hold in Kaliabor, Nagaon and Mongoldoi. As the party has already declared that they would not contest in those constituencies, it will indirectly help Congress.

However, reacting to this strategy of AIUDF former CM Tarun Gogoi says "There is no understanding or alliance with AIUDF. They have no base in other constituencies and the party is becoming weaker than before.”

Regarding the issue of alliance and understanding with AIUDF, Congress candidate from Nagaon Parliamentary constituency Pradyut Bordoloi says “We are committed to our people. We are sure that our seat will be increased to more than nine. There is no need of any understanding with other party.”

Former Chief Secretary M.G.K.Bhanu is the candidate of Congress from Tezpur parliamentary constituency and state minister Pallab Lochan Das is the candidate from BJP for the same. As today is the last day of filing nomination for the first phase which will be held in 11th April, Tapan Gogoi, Pallab Lochan Das, Pawan Singh Ghatuwar, M.G.V.K.Bhanu, Abdul Aziz, Haren Singh Bey, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Dilip Saikia, Sushmita Dev, Biren Singh Engti, Pradan Barua,Anil Borgohain had filed their nominations today along with large number of suporters. Tapan Gogoi and Rameswar Teli is accompanied by CM Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma.

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(Onkareshwar Pandey is Editor in Chief & CEO, Indian Observer Post and former Senior Group Editor- Rashtriya Sahara (Hindi & Urdu) and also former Editor - News, ANI. http://bit.ly/2mh7hih).

Indian Observer Post Team

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