Congress leader joins All-India United Democratic Front

In a significant political move, former Bihar and Tripura governor and veteran Congress leader Devananda Konwar on Wednesday joined the All-India United Democratic Front in a public meeting at Barpeta.

Mr Konwar, who joined the party in the presence of AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, had been marginalised in the Congress party. Indicating that Mr Konwar would be the AIUDF’s face in Upper Assam against the ruling Congress party, Mr Ajmal also announced that there was no possibility of any alliance with the ruling Congress.

“We wanted to united anti-BJP forces, but the ruling Congress party has changed its stand conveniently,” said Mr Ajmal, adding that it was the Congress that had proposed an alliance first. Pointing out that following repeated requests from the Congress central leadership and anti-BJP parties the AIUDF had softened its stand against the Congress, Mr Ajmal said, “But now Congress is disgracefully accusing us of becoming desperate for an alliance with them.”

Mr Ajmal, while announcing the induction of the veteran Congress leader into the AIUDF, said, “Congress has deceived the people repeatedly. They have deceived us also this time. If BJP comes to power in Assam, Congress will be held responsible for it.”

Mr Ajmal, a veteran Muslim leader of the Northeast, had at least two to three rounds of meetings with Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi but failed to forge any alliance.

A day before Mr Konwar joined the AIUDF, the ruling Congress party has also announced that they would not have any alliance with the AIUDF and that the Congress had decided to contest the 2016 Assembly elections on its own.