Congress leader Tarun Gogoi, the three-time Assam Chief Minister, on Tuesday said his party has decided to strike up a grand alliance with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) for the 2021 Assembly elections. Until now, Gogoi had asked “who is Ajmal” in relation to AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal.
"It's not only the AIUDF, we are open to all like-minded parties. People of the state are dissatisfied over the state of the economy, people losing jobs and uncertainty all around," said Gogoi.
He said the All Assam Students' Union will not ally with the Congress. "They have decided to float their own regional party. There is a wave against the BJP in the state," he added. "The youth, farmers, tribals and Bengalis in the state feel they have been cheated. The people of Assam today want a grand alliance."
Although there is no official seal to the alliance yet, Tuesday's meeting of the Assam Pradesh Congress core committee at a Guwahati hotel has set the ball rolling, said Gogoi. The meeting was attended by senior leaders including Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora and All India Mahila Congress President Susmita Deb.
"Today’s meeting was unanimous on strengthening our presence and striking an alliance with parties like Krishak Mukti Sangram Smiti, which are with the aspiration of the state's ethnic people. Indigenous rights of the people, the long standing demands of the tea garden tribes -- all shall reflect in the alliance," said Bora.
Challenging the BJP’s 'Mission 100' and Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s jibe that the Congress and AIUDF alliance will not muster more than 35 seats in the 120-member Assembly, Bora said the wild guess would be proven wrong in the elections.
In the 2016 Assembly election, the BJP won 60 seats while the AGP and BPF had won 14 and 12 respectively. The ruling coalition was supported by an independent MLA. The AIUDF won 13 seats and the Congress 25.
