Congress-AIUDF cosying up to keep out BJP!

Hush-hush pre-poll understanding likely to develop into post-poll grand alliance in 2016

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Oct 14: The upcoming assembly election of 2016 has pushed the ruling Congress party into a 'do or die' situation. With BJP as the main opponent eyeing 84+ seats in 2016, the Congress leadership is taking all precautions to defend its citadel, even though the number being targeted by the BJP is an uphill task as political observers contend.

To form the next government, under the lead of Congress, some Congress leaders and ministers are now in favour of a hush-hush pre-poll alliance with the AIUDF, which if it works outs will emerge as a post-poll alliance officially after the elections. In this regard, the recent comment made by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi after a meeting with AIUDF supremo Badaruddin Ajmal is a clear pointer to such a ‘grand alliance’ in the offing.

It may be recalled that after Ajmal called on Gogoi a few days back, while talking to the media, Gogoi said that Congress is ‘open to all except the BJP’ and maintained that no other party is ‘politically untouchable’ except the BJP.

This comment drew flak from the BJP, with the saffron party’s tiol leader and Assam in-charge Mahendra Singh terming the AIUDF a ‘B-team of the Congress’.

Meanwhile, responding to Mahendra Singh’s comment on Congress-AIUDF, APCC vice president Ripun Bora on Wednesday said, “We are not concerned about what Mahendra Singh says. In politics, there are no permanent enemies or friends. Everything is possible in politics. If the situation so demands, we will explore possibilities and execute them.”

When asked, if the Congress is thinking of an alliance with the AIUDF, Bora said, “This is not the right time to comment on it.”

Significantly, after meeting with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Ajmal too did not rule out the possibility of an alliance and said that if they receive a proposal, the core committee of the party will decide on it.

It may be mentioned that most of the political parties with less or more mass base in the State, have distanced themselves from the BJP. Under such circumstances, a grand post poll alliance between these parties under the lead of the Congress cannot be ruled out. However, the picture won’t be the same if the AGP and BJP go for an alliance — a possibility which the Congress leadership is trying to nullify by maintaining constant touch with AGP leaders.