Congress divided over its alliance with AIUDF, explores grand alliance option

ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2021

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: At a time when the political scene in the State is heating up for the 2021 Assembly elections, the exercise to forge a Congress-AIUDF alliance to defeat the ruling BJP has caused differences of opinions inside the Opposition Congress.

Many Congress MLAs from Upper Assam while maintaining a distance from the issue of the party's possible alliance with AIUDF, are of the opinion that only a grand alliance with all anti-BJP forces would prevent the saffron party to come back to power in the next year's elections. Differences of opinions inside the Congress have become wide open after the Saturday night meeting between the top Congress and AIUDF leaders. The meeting held at the official residence of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia on Sunday said he attended the Saturday meeting after receiving a telephonic invitation from the APCC president Ripun Bora. "I was told that it was a party meeting. But when I reached the venue, I saw few AIUDF MLAs and leaders in the meeting," he said.

Saikia, however, said only a Mahajot (grand alliance) of non-BJP, anti-BJP and regional forces could defeat the saffron party in the 2021 elections. "Giving importance to a particular political party might offend other anti and non BJP forces," Saikia said, adding that the final decision in this regard would be taken by the Congress high-command.

It may be mentioned that a meeting of the core committee of Assam Congress had also favoured a grand alliance for the next year's poll. During the meeting some Congress leaders advocated for the party's alliance with AIUDF to prevent division of anti-BJP votes.

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