By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
Assam United Democratic Front made history in 2006 by winning 10 seats in Assam Assembly election. Cashing in on the success, it had launched branches in at least five other states and now calls itself All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). The first serious set back for the three year old party came when it lost the recent by-election to one of the seat previously held by its president. This is a warning sign for the party and what it represents.
In the last Lok Sabha election, party president Badruddin Ajmal was able to win a seat, proclaiming proudly that they are here to stay and their 2006 success was no flash in the pan. But the success of UDF has lot to do with the years of goodwill generated by the social work of Deoband graduate and businessman Badruddin Ajmal. Badruddin who won from two places in 2006 assembly election, vacated Jamunamukh and fielded his brother Sirajuddin for the by-election. Sirajuddin won comfortably and though he doesn’t speak Assamese he was able to secure more votes than his brother. It was a victory for Badruddin Ajmal.
Having won a seat in the newest Lok Sabha, Badruddin had to give up his Salmara South seat as well. This time he found his son Abdur Ramhan Ajmal to retain the seat for the party but Ajmal had lost by a margin of 6,553 votes. He polled 46, 916 votes against his father’s 55,760 polled in 2006. Congress got the seat back by polling 53,469 votes vastly improving their score of 39,381 votes in 2006.
Congress will be too quick to write off AIUDF, it’s a realty that will not go away that easily. But loss of latest election is definitely a warning sign for the party if it wished to listen.
Badruddin Ajmal
First of all, the party has been expanding too rapidly. What led to its success in Assam can not be repeated so easily in other states. Just because a constituency is Muslim-dense it does not lead itself to a win by Muslim party or candidates. What AIUDF need is to create a cadre based party that are dependent on real leaders that have done grass root level work and people of those areas recognized and identify with.
AIUDF also needs to recognize that the party is more than the Ajmal family. True, most political parties in India are family run operation and having tight control of the family may be necessary when they are bank rolling the effort but family’s inability to trust others will hamper its ambition of becoming a national party.
Sirajuddin Ajmal
In the last Lok Sabha election out of seven seats that the party was contesting- four was contested by two brothers- Badruddin and Sirajuddin, both sitting MLAs. If it is not lack of trust then at least it is the lack of leadership in AIUDF camp that it is unable to find leaders that will acceptable to the voters. Either way, these are warning signs for the party and it will serve it will to do some soul-searching before the all important Assam assembly election of 2011. It can start preparing for it by asking the all important question- whether their MLAs have able to make a difference for their constituents.
Link:
http://www.udf.in/