Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 4 (ANI): The Assam Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday alleged that the Congress’ decision to sever its alliance with Raijor Dal was part of a “veiled conspiracy” to seek electoral support from AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal ahead of the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election.
According to the release, the Congress had entered into an alliance with Raijor Dal during the last Assam Legislative Assembly election, ostensibly to prevent a division of the indigenous vote, particularly in Upper Assam.
However, the people of Assam “decisively reposed their faith” in the BJP-led alliance, resulting in the formation of the BJP-led government in the state for a third consecutive term, it said.
According to the release, the alliance secured 102 seats in the election, while the Congress was reduced to 19 seats. It said the BJP-led alliance won 33 of the 35 Assembly constituencies in Upper Assam, 14 of the 15 seats in North Assam and 14 of the 19 constituencies in Middle Assam.
The release further stated that the Congress-Raijor Dal alliance’s political objective was rejected by the electorate during the Assembly election itself and described the subsequent collapse of the alliance as a “natural consequence” of that rejection.
The BJP further alleged that the Congress’ “true political kith and kin” for the forthcoming Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election was the AIUDF of Badruddin Ajmal.
It alleged that although the Congress did not formally ally with the AIUDF during the last Assembly election in the hope of securing indigenous votes, the two parties had shared a “covert political understanding” for a long time.
It cited the Rajya Sabha election held in March 2020, when Ajit Kumar Bhuyan was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Assam with the combined votes of the Congress and AIUDF. It noted that Ripun Bora was then serving as president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee.
The alleged understanding subsequently became an open political alliance during the 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election, but claimed that voters rejected the arrangement and voted for a non-Congress government for the second consecutive time.
The release also referred to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, alleging that the Congress overlooked several stronger leaders in the Dhubri constituency and fielded a comparatively weak candidate, which it claimed facilitated Badruddin Ajmal’s election as an MP from Dhubri.
Similarly, it alleged that the AIUDF did not field a candidate against Assam Pradesh Congress President Gaurav Gogoi in the Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency, thereby indirectly assisting his victory.
It further claimed that the AIUDF helped the Congress by not fielding candidates in 11 Lok Sabha constituencies, including Nagaon.
The political calculus behind the alleged indirect assistance between the two parties in Dhubri and Kaliabor was rooted in the “politics of the minority Muslim vote bank”.
A division of the minority Muslim vote would politically damage both parties and alleged that the Congress therefore considered the AIUDF more electorally valuable than its association with Raijor Dal in the forthcoming Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election.
It alleged that the Congress had now “abandoned the company of Akhil Gogoi” and was increasingly eager to “climb onto the shoulders of Badruddin Ajmal” for political survival and electoral convenience. (ANI)
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