Assam: AIUDF chief Ajmal has JD(U), RJD in ‘grand alliance’, invites Congress too

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Neither the RJD nor the JD(U) has any presence in Assam — the JD(U) contested two seats in 2011 and polled only 3,020 votes — but they can eat into the vote banks of both the BJP and the Congress.

The Congress dismissed the alliance. “Where is the RJD and JD(U) presence in Assam? Ajmal is simply trying to raise his importance by drawing up this insignificance alliance,” said Congress spokesman Mehdi Alam Bora. And a BJP spokesperson said, “Since the RJD and the JD(U) have an alliance with the Congress in Bihar, it is the Congress that will be directly affected.”

While Ajmal is hoping to get Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad to campaign for the AIUDF, it will obviously be difficult for the two Bihar leaders to speak against the Congress in Assam because the three parties are part of the “grand alliance” in Bihar.

“We discussed this with Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad and asked the Congress to join us in our effort to fight against the BJP and prevent the party from getting a foothold in Assam,” Ajmal said. “We wanted the Congress and the AGP to join us along with the JD(U) and the RJD, but the AGP went with the BJP and the Congress did not respond — maybe due to certain compulsions. We, however, once again invite the Congress to join us, even now.”

JD(U) general secretary and Northeast-in-charge Arun Srivastava said the people of Assam were upset with the BJP. “The BJP had given the impression that there is no alternative to the party and Narendra Modi but lost badly in Delhi and Bihar,” he said.

RJD state convener Kanak Gogoi urged the Congress to join the alliance as “Assam is a secular state and we will not allow the BJP to gain a foothold.”