Guwahati: After a long battle between the two parties, the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) led by Badruddin Ajmal, has agreed to back a Congress candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections on March 31.
AIUDF, which fought the last state elections alongside Congress, demanded that the latter allow its nominee to run for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats and that it supports AIUDF’s candidacy.
The decision was reversed after AIUDF leader Ajmal met with Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), to clear up the confusion.
While addressing to local media reports, AIUDF general secretary Haidar Hussain Bora said that “The arrangement has been sealed for this election. This time, the AICC asked the AIUDF to endorse Congress candidates, and we agreed. The AICC has promised to support us in the upcoming elections.”
The AIUDF has previously requested that the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) run a minority candidate.
However, the Assam Congress has not yet decided on a candidate and is awaiting directions from the high command.
Debabrata Saikia, the leader of the Congress legislative party (CLP), announced on Thursday that the party has begun collecting applications for the Rajya Sabha. Later in the day, he suggested, the party might declare its candidate for the elections.
Meanwhile, Bhabesh Kalita, the president of the BJP in Assam, has stated that the saffron camp will declare its candidates on March 21.
In Assam, the terms of two Congress Rajya Sabha members, Ranee Nara and Ripun Bora are set to expire in April.
While the deadline for submitting nominations has been set for March 21, the votes will be counted on the same day as the voting.
Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by state legislatures using a single transferable vote based on the principle of proportional representation.