AIUDF candidate announcement part of BJP strategy, alleges Ripun Bora

Congress leader Ripun Bora has accused the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) of acting as the “B team” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam, alleging that the party’s early decision to field a candidate for the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election was part of a strategy to divide the opposition vote.

Speaking in Guwahati, Bora alleged that AIUDF’s decision to announce its candidate at an early stage was aimed at consolidating minority votes in its favour and weakening the Congress party’s support base among minority voters.

“It is an open secret that AIUDF is the B team of BJP in Assam,” Bora said. “At the advice of the BJP, AIUDF has declared the candidate so early. It is a part of their strategy just to consolidate the minority votes in favour of AIUDF and break the Congress support base among the minority people.”

The remarks came after AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal announced former All Assam Minorities Students’ Union leader Rejaul Karim Sarkar as the party’s candidate for the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election. AIUDF had earlier rejected Congress’s appeal for an alliance for the bypoll.

The Nagaon Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after the sitting Congress MP resigned from Parliament and subsequently joined the BJP. The by-election is expected to be closely watched as opposition parties seek to consolidate their respective support bases in the constituency.