AIUDF hopes to double its tally as 70% turn up to vote

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

Guwahati: With large turnout in the Phase 1 poll held on Monday for Assam Assembly, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) of Badruddin Ajmal has expressed hope that it could double its tally from the current 3 in the areas that went to poll to 7. This is a conservative expectation.

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In all 62 seats out of 126 went to poll in the Phase 1 on 4th April. The overall polling in the Phase 1 was registered at 70%.

Badruddin Ajmal, AIUDF president

Talking to this correspondent, Mr Atiqur Rahman, campaign head of AIUDF and media advisor to the party chief, said: “In Phase 1 AIUDF had fielded 29 candidates, about one third of its total 79 candidates for the Assembly. In 2006 in these areas we could win only 3 seats, but this time we hope to double the tally.”

Rahman said the party could win at least 7 seats in the Phase 1 while 50 candidates of the party are in the fray for Phase 2 that will be held on 11th April. He even named the seven constituencies of the Phase 1 where AIUDF is more than hopeful about victory. The seats are Badarpur, Hailakandi, Katigora, Patharkandi, Karimganj North, Nowboicha and Rangapara. In most of these seats, Muslims constitute more than 5% of the total voters.

Barring few incidents of rigging and technical error in Electronic Voting Machines, the polling remained peaceful. Rahman also said that the party headquarters has received reports of technical errors and even rigging in EVMs and thus the party has filed complaints for four places.

7 seats which AIUDF hopes to win

Muslim candidates in Phase 1

For 62 seats in Phase 1, there were 485 candidates (38 women) in the fray – about one-fourth of them were Muslims (116). These 116 Muslim candidates were fighting in only 26 seats while eleven seats were reserved for SCs (3) and STs (8).

AIUDF headquarters, Guwahati

AIUDF had fielded 15 Muslim candidates followed by All India Trinamool Congress (10) and Asom Gana Parishad and Congress 6 each. There were two Muslim women among the 116 – Afsana Begum of Nationalist Congress Party in Sarupathar constituency and Sarifun Nisha of Trinamool Congress in Jorhat.

Of 26 seats where Muslim candidates were contesting, Karimganj South seat had the maximum number of Muslim candidates — 19 including 15 Independents. There were only 9 seats where only one Muslim candidate was in the fray while the rest 17 had more than one Muslim candidate.