Ajmal goes down backing migrants, takes Cong along

GUWAHATI: Perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal hoped to be the kingmaker in Assam. He ended up losing from Salmara South, his constituency, and helping the BJP end the Congress’ 15-year run.

The BJP’s campaign was based on the Bangladeshi issue and the projection of Ajmal’s party -- the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) -- as one that bats for migrant Muslims of dubious citizenship. The BJP also said the Congress and AIUDF were natural allies because of their minority appeasement policy.

“If Congress and AIUDF form the government, Badruddin Ajmal will become the deputy chief minister and dictate the fate of the indigenous peoples,” BJP leaders said while campaigning.

The Congress too had used AIUDF, saying it had struck a deal with BJP for a change of government. But few bought this argument after all AIUDF legislators cast their votes in favour of two Congress Rajya Sabha candidates in March.

Ajmal had formed AIUDF in 2005 after the Supreme Court scrapped the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act of 1983 on the basis of a petition by Sarbananda Sonowal, then an AGP leader. His party has been on the ascendancy since winning 10 seats in the 2006 assembly polls and 18 in 2011 to be the second largest party.

But many felt the AIUDF had its limitations because of its image as a migrants’ party, though it has MLAs from indigenous communities. “The party might have reached a plateau five years ago,” political scientist Akhil Ranjan Dutta said.

Former AIUDF leader HRA Choudhury, now with Samajwadi Party, said Ajmal was too family-centric to be an alternative to other regional and mainstream parties. It, others believe, has work to do to even be an alternative to the Congress in Muslim-dominated seats.

AIUDF has won 13 seats, five fewer than in 2011. Party insiders blamed it on Ajmal’s whimsical choice of candidates and failure of many AIUDF legislators to nurture their constituencies.