Guwahati: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), led by perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal, has released its first list of 9 candidates for the Assam assembly election.The party is preparing to take on both the BJP-led and Congress-led alliances directly after being sidelined by both camps.AIUDF is expected to contest around 25 of the 126 assembly seats in the upcoming election. In the current assembly, AIUDF has 15 MLAs, the second-highest number in opposition after Congress.On Monday night, the party renominated 3 sitting MLAs — Aminul Islam, Hafiz Rafiqul Islam, and Nizanur Rahman. However, constituency delimitation has affected their seats. Aminul Islam, currently the MLA from Dhing, was nominated from Rupahihat, while Jania MLA Hafiz Rafiqul Islam will contest from the newly created Mandia. Nizanur Rahman will seek re-election from Gauripur.AIUDF also fielded two women candidates in lower Assam — Minakshi Rahman from Paka Betbari and Sabana Aktar from Bilasipara.Former All Assam Minorities Students Union president Rejaul Karim Sarkar was given the ticket from the newly created Srijangram constituency. Rejaul recently joined Congress, but resigned shortly afterwards and was later endorsed by AIUDF.Former MLA Abu Taher Bepari was nominated from Parbatjhora, Matiur Rahman from Dhing, and Siddique Ahmed from Laharighat.AIUDF was part of the Congress-led opposition alliance in the 2021 Assembly election, but ties between the two parties soured soon after their defeat.Ajmal once again attacked Congress, alleging that it is BJP’s A team. He also accused Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain of damaging Congress and confining it mainly to minority-inhabited areas. “Congress was turned into Muslim League,” alleged Ajmal, accusing Rakibul. He said Congress lost credibility in its former stronghold of upper Assam and brought in the regional party Assam Jatiya Parishad as an ally to protect its prospects in that region.
