Badruddin Ajmal: Bone of contention

Guwahati, April 11: The prospect of Elections 2006 throwing up a hung Assembly has divided the Congress leadership on the issue of maintaining a distance from the nascent Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), which could play the pivotal role in government formation.

Taking a stand diametrically opposite to that of chief minister Tarun Gogoi, PCC chief Bhubaneswar Kalita today made it clear that the AUDF was not ?untouchable?.

Gogoi, on the other hand, has been going hammer and tongs at the AUDF, particularly picking on its president Badruddin Ajmal. The chief minister has branded him a ?very communal politician?.

Today, too, the differences came to the fore during back-to-back news conferences by Gogoi and Kalita.

Exuding confidence that the Congress would return for a record second term at Dispur in over two decades, Gogoi remained steadfast in his criticism of the AUDF.

This party is being seen as a major hurdle in the way of the Congress returning to power as it has divided the minority votebank.

?I am the happiest man today as the people of Assam have rejected the communal parties. Asomiya culture is such where there is no place for communalism. We have by and large been able to retain our support base among the tea, minority and tribal communities despite forces being inimical to our prospects,? he said. He did not refer to the parties but left no one in doubt as to who he had in mind.

However, Kalita?s stand was more diplomatic vis-?-vis the AUDF, though on other questions ? such as how many seats the party would get or who will be the next chief minister ? his observations were in sync with those of Gogoi?s.

When asked about a possible tie-up with the AUDF, a guarded Kalita said the nascent party was certainly not untouchable. He also refused to concede that the minority party?s campaign was communal in nature. ?Since the Election Commission has registered it, it certainly cannot be a communal party. You cannot equate the AUDF with the BJP,? he said.

When asked why the BJP, also recognised by the poll panel, was dubbed ?communal?, he said it?s was an altogether different case.

Kalita, however, agreed with Gogoi on the law and order front, arguing that there was only one murder during the polls compared to 51 killings in 2001.

The duo also dismissed the predictions of an exit poll that forecast a hung House.

The exit poll, conducted by a private TV channel, gave the Congress between 52 and 60 seats. It also predicted that the AUDF could win around 28 to 35 seats. In such a scenario, the AUDF could become the catalyst in government formation.

The exit poll predicted around 25 to 31 seats for the AGP and between 10 and 15 seats for the BJP.