Abdur Rehman Ajmal

Guwahati, Oct. 14: “Ajmal”, the veritable political brand that steers the All Indian United Democratic Front, is ready to get a rush of young blood.

The party will publicly launch Abdur Rahman Ajmal, the eldest son of party president Badruddin Ajmal, tomorrow afternoon.

As part of the launch, the party’s youth wing has planned a motorbike and car rally from the airport to accord a grand welcome to the 27-year-old Ajmal scion when he arrives from Mumbai tomorrow. A felicitation function will follow.

The grand launch was expected, as the AIUDF’s election committee last night named him as the unanimous candidate for the byelections to be held in South Salmara on November 7.

The seat fell vacant after his father and sitting MLA Ajmal senior got elected to the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat in May.

Abdur will be the third member of the Ajmal family to contest elections in the state. If he wins, he will join his uncle Sirajuddin, the Jamunamukh MLA, in the Assembly.

The AIUDF appears to be rooting for the Ajmal scion and has charted out his role in the affairs of the party a la Rahul Gandhi.

Abdur, an active member of the party but without any designation, will help mobilise the youth and also help select at least 40 per cent of the candidates below 40 years for the next Assembly polls, party insiders said.

Officially, party spokesman Baharul Islam refuted the idea that Ajmal was trying to perpetuate his own political dynasty.

“He was nominated in deference to the wishes of the people of South Salmara. They wanted somebody from the family. It is the effect of the Ajmal brand. There have been others from political families. Abdur is a post-graduate in Islamic jurisprudence and is currently pursuing his graduation in economics from Jamia Milia Islamia,” said Islam.

His candidature reflects a growing trend of fielding nominees from political families.

The Congress and the AGP were silent on the nomination though.

PCC spokesman Mehdi Alam Bora said: “Nomination is their internal matter. We will fight the AIUDF, not any individual. We will contest to win”.

“What is there to say? This is the political trend,” Dilip Saikia, the general secretary of the AGP, quipped.

Ajmal senior, however, said he wanted his son to join the family business. “It is not dynasty politics. He is capable and the people and party wanted it. I had no option. Fresh blood is always welcome. We hope he will inject more josh into the party,” he said.

Some prominent family members in the state politics, cutting across party lines, include chief minister Tarun Gogoi and his brother Dip of the Congress, former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and his wife Joyshree of the AGP, former chief minister Hiteswar Saikia and his wife Hemoprobha, again from the Congress.

The Assembly currently has as MLAs the father-son duo of Gautam and Rahul Roy, brothers Mohibul and Rasul Hoque, Robin Bordoloi, son of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi, Bithika Dev, wife of former Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev and Jibantara Ghatowar, wife of the Congress’s chief whip, Paban Singh Ghatowar, among others.