The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), led by President Badruddin Ajmal, is the third-largest party in the Assam Legislative Assembly, after the BJP and Congress. In recent years, however, the party has seen erosion in its core vote base, with Congress making inroads into the Muslim-majority belts.
With the assembly elections approaching, Ajmal aims to reverse the party’s dwindling fortunes by forging a strategic alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
However, it is not clear whether AIMIM will accept the offer. Also, the Bihar election results might have prompted AIUDF to seek an alliance with AIMIM. In the Bihar polls, the AIMIM secured five seats.
AIUDF released its second list of candidates for the April 9 election on Tuesday. Ajmal will be contesting from the Binnakandi constituency in Central Assam's Hojai district. So far, the party has announced candidates in a total of 21 constituencies.
In the 2024 general elections, the party was effectively wiped out, with Ajmal himself suffering a landslide defeat. The Congress was able to consolidate the state’s significant Muslim vote to its advantage, leaving the AIUDF sidelined in its own strongholds.
The party has 15 members in the outgoing assembly. Back in 2006, the AIUDF 's debut stunned the rivals as the party won 10 seats, making the Congress's tally drop from 71 to 53. In the 2011 elections, AIUDF secured 18 seats. In the 2014 parliamentary elections, it managed to win three out of Assam's 14 Lok Sabha seats.
The Congress has always tagged the party as BJP's 'B-Team' as it wants to prevent a split in Muslim votes. The party highlights Ajmal and his family's connections with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The party’s traditional core support base consisted of Bengali-speaking Muslims. However, experts believe that these communities are now drifting away from the party, fearing that aligning with the AIUDF could jeopardise their livelihoods by reinforcing the perception that the party exists solely to protect Bangladeshis.
AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam's resignation after 20 years has also put the party in a spot. Citing personal reasons, he resigned and called Badruddin Ajmal his "mentor". The Mankachar MLA had been suspended for six years from the party membership over "anti-party" activities.