Election results 2024: Congress now a ‘completely’ Muslim party in Assam, says CM Himanta Sarma
The Hindu
Assam Lok Sabha election analysis: Muslims shift from AIUDF to Congress, BJP gains, NDA secures majority.
The Lok Sabha election in Assam over three phases saw the Muslims swing from the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) to the Congress, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Saying that the Congress has “completely” become a Muslim party, he said the party’s vote share did not increase at the cost of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“The BJP’s vote share has also increased. What we have found is that the AIUDF votes have shifted to the Congress,” he told journalists on Thursday.
“The results make it clear that the Muslims, who account for 40% of the State’s electorate, have adopted the Congress in Assam. I do not know whether they will remain with the Congress or return to the AIUDF in the 2026 Assembly election,” he said.
Of Assam’s 14 parliamentary constituencies, the AIUDF contested Dhubri, Nagaon and Silchar reserved for the Scheduled Castes. The party suffered a setback in Dhubri where its president, perfume baron Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, lost to Rakibul Hussain of the Congress by more than 10.12 lakh votes.
Mr. Ajmal had won Dhubri thrice in a row from 2009. MLA Aminul Islam and former MP Radheyshyam Biswas finished third in the Nagaon and Silchar seats respectively.
Mr. Sarma said the BJP got a good number of Muslim votes in the Karimganj seat owing to local factors and issues with the Congress candidates.
The first Asian Geriatric Oncology Society Conference, organised by Geri Care Hospital, began in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday (September 28, 2024) as part of the Geri Care Geriatrics Conclave 2024, themed ‘Geriatrics Beyond the Boundaries’. This two-day event will conclude on Sunday (September 29, 2024).