GUWAHATI: Senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said people of Assam will never accept Congress if it teams up with the Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF to contest the assembly polls. Himanta’s statement comes at a time when the proposal of a Congress-AIUDF alliance is gaining momentum and both the parties are contesting together in the Bodoland Territorial Council polls.
Taking a jibe at Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Ripun Bora, who had asserted that Congress will become the kingmaker in the BTC polls along with AIUDF, Himanta said that no one can stop BJP from winning the BTC polls and the assembly election next year.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the BTC election campaign, Himanta on Sunday said, “Congress has freedom to field candidates wherever they want. But people of Assam won’t accept their understanding with the AIUDF.”
Himanta has been repeatedly targeting the AIUDF as he has been raising concerns over illegal infiltration from Bangladesh and claiming that a specific “civilization” would now flourish and another civilization would be wiped out in Assam if the Assamese community thwarts the impending cultural threat.
Both Congress and AIUDF are eyeing the minority votes at a time when the BJP is banking upon the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to win a huge share of the non-Muslim electorate.
Speaking about a possible tie-up with Ajmal’s party, Bora said, “Wherever we have our MLAs, we will contest those seats. The same is true for AIUDF. Seat-sharing arrangements can be worked out for the remaining seats.”
Bora was also seen convincing the Congress workers in lower Assam’s Dalgaon on Saturday night where minority voters have been playing a decisive role in Congress victories despite the Modi wave.
With Congress having 22 MLAs now after former chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s death and 13 legislators from the AIUDF in the 126-member Assam assembly, the two opposition parties in Assam are pushing hard to float a grand alliance against the BJP by roping in the Left and regional parties. With reports of Assam Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal — new regional outfits being born out of anti-CAA movement — joining hands for assembly polls doing the rounds, the Congress and AIUDF do not want division of opposition votes.
A source in the Congress said, “A force which wants to break the opposition unity is spreading the news that Congress won't give AIUDF the desired number of seats. In minority-dominated seats like Dalgaon, some of the Congress workers are concerned about such rumours.”
He added that the strategy behind a Congress-AIUDF alliance will be to stop the division of votes in seats where BJP may have a clear advantage.