Opposition meet in Patna, AIUDF chief Ajmal gets no invite

GUWAHATI: Despite AIUDF’s desperate bid to join the opposition alliance, Assam’s minority-based party has been left cold by parties that have formed a joint alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Met in Patna to formulate elections strategy.

Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF was not invited to the meeting of opposition parties called by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar.
A delegation of Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) led by Lurinjyoti Gogoi met Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on Wednesday.

During the meeting, he discussed with Thackeray the alliance of regional parties ahead of the 2024 elections to defeat the BJP.
AJP leaders urged Thackeray to exclude the AIUDF from the opposition alliance.

Earlier, the Congress, which had severed ties with the AIUDF after the assembly elections in Assam in 2021, had also refused to join hands with the Ajmal-led party.
The Congress accused the AIUDF of being a “mouthpiece for the BJP”.

Jairam Ramesh said in a statement, “Ajmal is nothing to BJP but like other parties like AIMIM. He has nothing to do with UPA as he claims.
Congress senior Bobbeeta Sharma had said that Ajmal is BJP’s number one agent.

“We should never have an alliance with him at the national level. In the state, we have already broken our alliance and I think this is a scumbag,” she added.