Congress, AIUDF, Left parties form grand alliance in Assam to take on BJP, allies in Assembly polls

Congress in Assam has joined hands with Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and four other parties. They have formed a "grand alliance" with a target to wrest power from the BJP and its allies in the Assembly elections slated in April-May.

Other parties which joined the alliance are Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI(ML) and Anchalik Gana Morcha, a newly floated regional party led by Rajya Sabha MP and former editor, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan.

The alliance, however, did not name a Chief Ministerial candidate.

The announcement for the grand alliance was made in Guwahati on Tuesday in the presence of Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is the senior AICC observer for Assembly elections in Assam.

Also read — Parties want three-phase polls in Assam, most prefer elections before Rongali Bihu

The announcement came at a time when a team of Election Commission of India was holding a meeting with political parties to discuss the issues related to Assembly elections.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president, Ripun Bora, claimed the "grand alliance" would comfortably wrest power from the BJP and its allies as people of Assam are angry with the present government over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and failure to deliver its promises. The BJP and its allies unseated Congress in 2016.

Sources said although AIUDF publicly announced that the CM candidate of the alliance would be projected from the Congress, the same could not be done due to factionalism within the grand old party.

Congress had earlier appealed to Asom Jatiya Parishad and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dol, two new parties formed out of the anti-CAA agitation, to join the grand alliance in order to capitalise on the anti-CAA voters. But the two parties rejected the offer saying AIUDF was a communal party. The two new parties, instead have decided to form an alliance among themselves and contest the polls together. This, political observers said would divide the anti-CAA votes and thereby help the BJP and its allies.

The BJP has decided to renew the alliance with AGP and replace Bodoland People's Front with United People's Party Liberal for the next Assembly elections.

The saffron party said the "grand alliance" would make no impact as people would vote against Congress for joining hands with "communal AIUDF."