By-polls for Assembly seats in Assam are set to take place following the election of the sitting MLAs to Parliament. The announcement by the Baruddin Ajmal’s party All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) to not to contest the Assembly by-polls is a big political news brewing from State of Assam for this round of Assembly by-polls. For the first time since its formation, Ajmal’s party is not participating in any election. Ajmal’s party has taken this step by calling the announcement of not contesting the elections as a part of its political strategic move. Badruddin Ajmal is deeply saddened by his unprecedented defeat in the Lok Sabha election and before taking any next political step, he wants to take a decision after thinking carefully and assessing the ground situation minutely.
Badruddin Ajmal’s seat Dhubri is adjacent to Bangladesh and it is said that Badruddin Ajmal settled many outsiders on this seat and made them voters. The voting percentage in this Lok Sabha seat is quite surprising to one and all. The seat has the record of having the highest voting percentage in the entire country in the last three Lok Sabha elections. On Dhubri LS seat voting percent in 2014 LS election was 88.36 percent which increased to 90.66 in 2019 and that further increased to 92.08 per cent in 2024 LS election. The voting on this seat is a lesson for other seats, especially urban seats where voting is less. Whereas when Badruddin Ajmal won this seat for the first time in 2009, the voting percentage was normal at 67 percent.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the election result of this seat was by record margin of more than 10 lakh plus votes which is quite shocking for Badruddin Ajmal and his party. Due to such a huge defeat Badruddin Ajmal is highly shocked as his defeat is being discussed openly in every election debate and discussion.
One of the most important issues in the last election was that Ajmal’s party failed to gain a lead on even a single Assembly seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Assam. There are 11 Assembly seats under Dhubri Lok Sabha seat, in which BJP’s ally the Assam Gana Parishad was leading on one seat and Congress was leading on the remaining 10 Assembly seats. Ajmal’s party contested election in 2024 on three Lok Sabha seats of Dhubri, Karimganj and Nagaon. There are 25 Assembly seats under these three Lok Sabha seats and Ajmal’s party failed to take the lead on any of the Assembly seats is really a big blow to Badruddin Ajmala and his party. Due to this poor performance, Ajmal considered it appropriate as of now to stay away from the by-elections.
In the past Badruddin Ajmal’s party surprised everyone by winning 3 Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and 18 seats in the 2011 Assam Assembly election. Ajmal’s party had become a bigger party than Owaisi’s party in terms of the members of the Lok Sabha and also in terms of legislators’ in terms of their respective States. Ajmal’s next target was to surpass the performance of Kerala’s Indian Union Muslim League in his State Assam.
It is also Ajmal’s political compulsion that he has to support Congress party’s Rakibul Hussain’s son Tanzeel Hussain from Samaguri Assembly seat in Nagaon district. Rakibul Hussain was MLA from Samaguri and his son is contesting from the seat in the by-poll.
Like other States in Assam too the BJP is toeing the coalition politics and contesting on three seats while giving two seats to its allies the Asom Gana Parishad and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL). On the other hand, like in West Bengal, the Congress Party’s alliance with its allies has broken here too and the Congress Party is contesting elections on its own on all five seats. The Congress party needs to learn coalition dharma from the BJP.
