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Ajmal Blockade Gogoi’s rocky ascent to power
Jyoti Lal Chowdhury
It was with specific arithmetic that Badruddin Ajmal, AIUDF chief, declared with all confidence on the eve of the assembly elections that he would be a king-maker in the formation of the next government at Dispur. One did not have to go for hard calculation to find out his assertive tone. In fact, a wily and wise politician, the multi-crore perfume trader with wide clout over the Muslims knew he has grown from strength to strength ever since his party AIUDF emerged in the political horizon of Assam and contested the assembly elections in 2006 for the first time to bag 10 seats.
In 2011, the tally of seats in its kitty went up to 18. Remarkably, in its parliamentary polls of 2014, AIUDF wrested 3 seats from Congress against its tally of 1 seat in 2009. Still significant, not only in the urban areas, Badruddin Ajmal’s party penetrated in the rural belts as well. The party won in 40 GPs in 2007 and 70 GPs in 2013. It was equally important to observe that Badruddin Ajmal today is the most successful politician who has created enough space among the Muslims to emerge as their messiah, once the vote-bank of INC.
Even a seasoned politician at the helm of power for the last 15 years, Tarun Gogoi could hardly imagine that the traditional vote-bank of Congress so assiduously built for decades would gradually and systematically slip away. Hiteswar Saikia, former Chief Minister, who ruled Assam for 2 terms, conveniently kept his eyes shut to the unabated influx of illegal migrants in the state, gloating over the cruel reality that it was strengthening the organizational base of Congress. The facts and statistics of his own government machinery counted their number around 30 lakh and the Union Home Ministry and its IB alerted Dispur about the ever growing menace of infiltration from across the border.
AIUDF supremo was playing his own game to consolidate the minority people and with his extraordinary power and tenacity he continued to maintain rapport with people in each and every constituency from where party candidates were contesting. With sensitive and emotive issues of ‘D’ voters, NRC, discrimination and exploitation by successive Congress governments in the state, he openly played ‘Muslim card’, reviving the Nellie massacre of February 18, 1983 and Bodoland riots. In order further to inflame the passion of minorities for unity, Badruddin Ajmal pointedly referred to the unprecedentedly massive turnouts at Narendra Modi’s public rallies. “If Hindus can unite at the call of Modi, should not the Muslims think of unity?,” he asked.
To read the further article please get your copy of Eastrn Panorama April issue @http://www.magzter.com/IN/Hill-Publications/Eastern-Panorama/News/ or mail too contact @easternpanorama.in
