Assam: Congress playing into BJP's hands, says AIUDF after not being invited to joint Opposition meet

Guhawati(Assam) [India], April 29 (ANI): Upset at not being invited to the meeting of like-minded Opposition parties meeting hosted by the Congress in Guwahati on Thursday, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) accused the former of "falling into the trap of the BJP".
Speaking to ANI on Friday, AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam said the Congress, by not extending an invite to the party led by perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal, at the meeting of the Opposition forces, played into the BJP's hands as the decision will help the saffron camp in future electoral battles.
"The Assam Congress seems to have fallen into the BJP's trap. The Congress, on Thursday, hosted a meeting of 11 Opposition parties but did not extend an invitation to us. They should realise that if all Opposition forces do not come together, the BJP will reap and the political dividends," Aminul Islam told ANI.
"The Congress the last Assembly polls in Assam in alliance with the AIUDF. But this time, they have made up their minds not to go with us. They refused an alliance with the AIUDF," he added.
He alleged further that in the last Rajya Sabha elections and the Presidential polls, a large number of Congress MLAs cross-voted in favour of BJP candidates.
Briefing media persons on the joint Opposition meeting on Thursday, the Congress's Assam president Bhupen Kumar Borah said all parties resolved not to go into an alliance with the minority outfit led by Badruddin Ajmal, adding that "AIUDF is the most unreliable political party and we decided not to forge any alliance with it in future".
Congress's Assam unit hosted the meeting in a bid to put up a combined challenge against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) had earlier urged all like-minded Opposition forces to set aside their differences and close ranks in the interest of the broader goal of unseating the BJP from power in the 2024 general elections.
According to sources, at the meeting, the discussions centred around strategies to defeat the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls. AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh was also present at the meeting.
"A total of 11 political parties were represented at the meeting. Apart from the Congress, the other political parties were the JD(U), NCP, Raijor Dal, RJD, TMC, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI (M), CPI (ML), and Jatiya Dal Assam. Several issues were discussed in the meeting and few decisions were taken as well," the Assam Congress president said after the Meeting.
"A coordination committee of the 11 political parties was formed at the meeting. It will be led by the APCC president. All the parties will come together for a mega public rally in Guwahati once Karnataka Assembly elections (on May 10) are done and dusted," he added. (ANI)