“After I defeated Ajmal by 10 lakh votes, Himanta started hating me”: Congress MP Rakibul Hussain

Congress MP Rakibul Hussain on February 26 alleged that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been launching sustained verbal attacks against him since the Congress defeated AIUDF chief Badaruddin Ajmal by a massive margin in the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency.

Speaking to the media, Hussain said the political hostility began the day he defeated Ajmal by nearly 10 lakh votes from Dhubri. “Have you seen the verbal attacks on me by Himanta Biswa Sarma? I was good with him when we were together, but suddenly I became bad. Do you know from when? From the day I defeated his friend Badaruddin Ajmal with a margin of 10 lakh votes,” Hussain said.

He claimed that Sarma realised he could no longer do politics in the name of Ajmal after the defeat. “From that very day, he started attacking me. The way I defeated Badaruddin Ajmal, Himanta Biswa Sarma is unable to digest it,” the Congress MP alleged.

Hussain further claimed that with the BJP facing resistance in Upper Assam from Moran, Matak and tea tribe communities, the Chief Minister was seeking political support from Ajmal once again. “Now he has seen that the BJP’s condition in Upper Assam is not good. There are no MLAs from tea tribes and no tea tribe ministers at the Centre. So Himanta Biswa Sarma thinks that to win elections, he will again require Badaruddin Ajmal,” he said.

Making a sharp allegation, Hussain said Ajmal, who was “sleeping in Mumbai and Dubai”, was called back by Sarma for the upcoming Assembly polls. “Badaruddin Ajmal is Himanta’s old friend. I am not saying this — Himanta himself has admitted that wherever he asks Badaruddin Ajmal to field candidates, Ajmal does it,” Hussain claimed.

Turning to the Samaguri Assembly seat, Hussain alleged manipulation during the by-election. Referring to Samaguri, he said, “The voters of Samaguri are my own people. The by-election result happened due to rigging of votes by Himanta Biswa Sarma.” He asserted that Congress would win the seat with a huge margin in the next election.

The Assam government and the BJP have not responded to Hussain’s allegations at the time of filing this report.