Will Badruddin Ajmal decide the fate of Silchar Lok Sabha seat?
Part–II
SILCHAR, September 1: Muslims who constitute 32 per cent of the total electorate in Assam are no longer the captive vote of Congress, AIUDF is now an alternative platform for them and they need it to liberate themselves for all the gimmickry of Congress in the name of minority development. Of the 9,78,510 total votes in Silchar Lok Sabha constituency, according to the 2009 figure, Bengali Hindu count for 40.94 per cent, Bengali Muslim 39.6 per cent while tea tribes constitute 13 per cent and others 6.5 per cent. Apart from winning the votes of both the communities, a party has also to gain tea tribe and other votes to be on the victory track.
Admittedly, the success record of AIUDF formed in 2005 with Badruddin Ajmal as its chief cannot but be a tough challenge to its main contenders, Congress and BJP. The question also arises who are going to be the candidates of the three parties in the reckoning. Badruddin Ajmal has made it clear he will contest from Dhubri. For Silchar seat, the name of media baron and the owner–proprietor of the Jugashankha Group of Publications, Bijoy Krishna Nath, is making round. Bijoy Krishna Nath, in the meantime, has begun mass contact programme, addressing public meetings to convey the message that he is very much in the fray.
According to a BJP source, Kabindra Purkayastha is most likely to be the choice of the party again. Congress, on the other hand, has many aspirants who include Dinesh Prasad Goala, former minister and now Chairman of Housefed, Gautom Roy, Minister of PHE, Ajit Singh, Minister of Excise and Sports, Arun Dutta Mazumdar, district Congress president, Sushmita Dev, MLA and Chairperson of Municipal Board, and Sarif–Uz–Zaman, Director of Eastern Regional Board, RBI.
Relevant to say, Silchar seat, which is regarded as the fulcrum of power and influence, has been a Congress bastion till 1985 except for 1974 when Nurul Huda of CPM won it. In 1991, it was for the first time that the saffron surge of the time brought victory to Kabindra Purkayastha of BJP. However, Sontosh Mohan Dev of Congress wrested the seat to lose it to Purkayastha in 1998. Dev regained the seat in 2004 only to give way to Kabindra Purkayastha again in 2009. With the emergence of AIUDF, the battle scenario was now different. From all reckoning, it would be a triangular contest with CPM, a force in the past, now almost decimated.
Fact File of 2009:
Total voters: 9,78,510
Kabindra Purkayastha (BJP) – 2,43,532
Badruddin Ajmal (AIUDF) – 2,00,268
Sontosh Mohan Dev (Congress) – 1,97,244
Sontosh Mohan Dev who dominated Barak politics for the last 40 years has more or less been out of active politics now for his falling health.
Badruddin Ajmal in the final analysis has quite ably shown his political force and ability when Congress candidate, Mandira Roy, wife of the most influential minister, Gautom Roy, could scrape through in Algapur by poll against the tough challenge of AIUDF candidate, Mehbubul Hasan Munna. Gautom Roy learnt the hard lesson, perhaps for the first time in his long 30 years of political career, what a battle it was when his oft–repeated prediction of 1 lakh vote margin slided down to 815 only.
Apart from all the skill to beat the rivals, there are issues galore to activate the leaders and workers as well as polarize the votes for the victory of his candidate before AIUDF chief. Bijoy Krishna Nath with his experiences of poll battles fought in the past is no doubt be a tough contender. Badruddin Ajmal’s stormy campaign will further add grist to his mill of taking the battle on the turf of his opponents. Call Badruddin Ajmal by any name, a saviour, a messiah, a trouble–maker, a communal politician, riding on illegal migrant votes, he is a towering personality in politics to upset the apple cart of both Congress and BJP. (Concluded)
source: The Sentinel 03.09.2013
Part I
