Guwahati: Ahead of the assembly elections in Assam next year, the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) are set to form an alliance, and the two parties are expected to make an official announcement in this regard soon.
Growing relations between the two parties were evident when AIUDF chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal visited veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Tarun Gogoi Sunday. Gogoi is admitted to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and is recovering from post-Covid complications.
A day after Ajmal’s Sunday visit, the Congress said it was in favour of like-minded parties, including the AIUDF, joining its proposed ‘Maha Gathbandhan’ (Grand Alliance) of opposition parties to defeat the incumbent BJP government.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi told ThePrint that a grand alliance was necessary because the people of Assam felt let down by the BJP.
He recalled the widespread protests across the state against the Citizenship Amendment Act and noted that people wanted all those harbouring anti-CAA sentiments to come together.
“Protests against the Citizenship Act were a pivotal moment in Assam’s history — where we saw people from different religious backgrounds, political beliefs and cultural ideologies come together. They do want all those opposed to CAA to be united — be it Congress, AIUDF or the newly created regional parties,” said Gaurav.
He also appreciated Ajmal’s wishes for his father. “Ajmal wished him a speedy recovery and the former chief minister thanked him, exchanged pleasantries and conveyed his wish to return to active politics soon. His well-wishers exist across party lines.”
Congress MP from Assam Abdul Khaleque said, “It was a courtesy visit by Ajmal. Tarun Gogoi is the state Congress’ tallest leader. We appreciate the visit of Ajmal, and we are also in favour of a grand alliance with anti-BJP forces in Assam including AIUDF.”
Core committee meeting held by AIUDF
The AIUDF also held a core committee meeting on 3 October, where it is said to have made a decision to form an alliance with the Congress.
“The core committee could not discuss the issue over the past few months as our party president was away in Mumbai. The decision to ally with like-minded parties was taken in out last General Council meeting before the nationwide lockdown,” said party spokesperson Haider Hussain Bora.
Ajmal met Gogoi in the hospital after the core committee meeting decision.
Assam saw the formation of four regional parties in the last few months. The Assam Jatiya Parishad was jointly formed by student organisations All Assam Students’ Union and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad, and the ‘Raijor Dol‘ was floated by 70 organisations led by the peasants’ group Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti.
Former journalist and Rajya Sabha member Ajit Bhuyan founded the Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM) while renowned filmmaker Jahnu Barua is one of the guiding forces behind the United Regional Party-Assam (URPA), a party founded by advocate Arup Borbora.
The Congress has appealed to all the new entrants to join the grand alliance.
Congress leader Debabrata Saikia, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Assam assembly, told ThePrint that the party is also in talks with Left parties and would soon confirm their participation in the grand alliance.
“Talks are on with the Left. We did not get feelers from the new regional parties yet. They are very recent formations,” he said.
Saikia also questioned regional party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which is in alliance with the BJP, over Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent statement that “Assam election 2021 will be fought between two civilisations”.
“Till the BJP exists in Assam and till our last drop of blood falls, Badruddin Ajmal cannot occupy a chair in Dispur. We will resolve to send Ajmal back to his place of origin,” Sarma had said at the state executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) on 4 October.
1/2 Assam election 2021 will be fought between two civilisations. My speech in @BJYMinAS state executive on 4th October 2020 pic.twitter.com/v1LmEIpcOw
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 4, 2020
“Let us observe how the AGP reacts to Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statement — they talk of regionalism, they should clarify what kind of new civilisation BJP wants to impose on Assam,” the Congress leader said.
While the AIUDF has always been keen to partner with the Congress, Gogoi has been against such an alliance to protect the party’s vote base in Upper Assam. In the region, ethnic nationalism is a strong force and AIUDF’s primary base is Muslims of Bengali descent who are widely considered ‘illegal’ immigrants.
In March 2019, Gogoi had denied all possibilities of a tie-up with the AIUDF after reports in local media surfaced that the Congress was seeking Ajmal’s help to win the Kaliabor Lok Sabha seat for Gaurav.
Gaurav won the seat by defeating Moni Madhab Mahanta of the Asom Gana Parishad by a margin of 20,9994 votes without Ajmal’s help.
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