Congress ends ties with AIUDF, courts regional allies

Congress seeks wider appeal among anti-BJP voters in Upper Assam by distancing from AIUDF.

- TIKAM SHARMA

With just two months remaining before the Assam Assembly elections, the Congress has made a major strategic shift by ending its longstanding alliance with the All India United Democratic Front (ATUDF) and opting to contest the polls independently.

Instead, the party is placing greater emphasis on coordination with regional forces such as the Raijor Dal and the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). The move formalises a split that had been developing for months and was earlier reported by The Sunday Guardian.

As a result, the Congress will enter the elections without two of its key allies from the 2021 Assembly polls — AIUDF and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). While the BPF has since aligned itself with the BJP, the exclusion of AIUDF is a deliberate political decision. In the last Assembly elections, the two allies together contributed close to 13 per cent of the total vote share.

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi recently ended all speculation by firmly ruling out any alliance with AIUDF. Speaking to the media, he said the Congress would fight the elections on its own strength and concentrate on reviving the party at the grassroots level. He made it clear that there is no understanding with ATUDF, either at present or in the future.