After grand alliance's debacle, Congress to contest Assam bypolls alone

The debacle Congress faced as "big brother" of the grand alliance of seven opposition parties in the Assembly elections held in March-April seems to have prompted the grand old party to contest all alone in the five Assembly seats going for bypolls on October 30.

After severing ties with Badruddin Ajmal's AIUDF, a major ally in the grand alliance, Congress wanted to have a seat sharing arrangement with Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal but later announced the candidates for all five seats due to lack of consensus regarding the seat sharing.

Bypolls for Thowra, Mariani, Bhabanipur, Gossaigaon and Tamulpur are scheduled on October 30.

Bypolls for Mariani and Thowra were announced after Congress MLAs, Rupjyoti Kurmi and Sushanta Borgohain switched over to BJP while Phani Talukdar, an MLA of AIUDF from Bhabanipur too joined the saffron party in August. Gossaigaon and Tamulpur Assembly seats fell vacant after death of two sitting MLAs belonging to UPPL, an ally of BJP, and BPF, a major ally of the grand alliance.

Bodoland People's Front (BPF), which won only four out of 12 seats it contested in Bodoland region in the Assembly polls had walked out of the grand alliance in July. The party, which was an ally of BJP in 2016 Assembly polls, in August even requested BJP to make it part of the government.

Congress did not have any talks with the left parties for the bypolls even as three left outfits were part of the grand alliance it stitched to defeat BJP in the Assembly elections.

Spokesperson of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), Bobbeeta Sharma told DH on Monday that the decision was taken based on the feedback from the grassroots that the party should try to make it strong in the constituencies where it could not do well in the Assembly polls due to the alliance. "For example, in the Bodoland area, our party became weak due to the alliance with BPF," she said.

Congress did not want to give Mariani and Thorwa to Raijor Dal as its candidates won the two seats in 2016 and in the last polls.

Congress on August 30 decided to sever its ties with AIUDF citing the "continuous and mysterious" appreciation of the BJP-led government by MLAs of Badruddin Ajmal's party. Sources within Congress, however, said the decision was taken as the alliance with AIUDF offered BJP a chance to paint Congress as "protector of foreigners" (Bengali speaking Muslims), which in turn took away the votes of the "indigenous Assamese," tribals and those in tea gardens from the grand old party.

A total of 39 candidates have filed nominations to contest for five seats.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said BJP and its allies would face contest only in Bhabanipur, an AIUDF stronghold and in Gossaigaon, where BPF candidate won in the last Assembly polls.

Date for bypolls in Majuli, which fell vacant after resignation of union minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, has not yet been announced.

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