GUWAHATI, Sept 10 - The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) is looking to field its candidates in at least 30 constituencies in next year�s Assembly elections, but is open to the idea of �adjustments� in seat-sharing for the �sake of� of the proposed �grand alliance�.
�We are the second largest Opposition party in the State. We have 14 legislators in the Assembly. Considering our support base and organisational strength, our party believes that we should contest in at least 30 seats in the 2021 polls,� a senior AIUDF office-bearer told The Assam Tribune.
He added that formal negotiations with the Congress and other Opposition parties for the proposed grand alliance have not yet started.
�So, for the time being, we do not want to make any official comments regarding seat-sharing. Once the negotiations start, we will definitely stake claim to at least 30 seats. Then, bargaining, �give and take� and adjustments can happen,� the AIUDF leader said.
He further said that the AIUDF has so far held only preliminary discussions with the Congress regarding the proposed alliance.
�The Parliament session will commence from September 14. Our leader Badruddin Ajmal may meet members of the Congress high command in Delhi during the session. But, the real negotiations will begin only after the Parliament session gets over and Ajmal returns to Assam,� he said.
It is noteworthy that the AIUDF had fielded candidates in 74 constituencies in the 2016 Assembly polls, winning 13 seats. Later, the party added another seat to its kitty during a by-election. On the other hand, the Congress had contested in 122 seats in 2016 and emerged victorious in only 26 constituencies.
�One primary rule of alliance formation is that a party generally contests those seats where it has incumbent representatives. So, we will surely want to contest in all the 14 constituencies where we have sitting MLAs. At the same time, our party also believes that Opposition unity is paramount for defeating the BJP in 2021. Therefore, one should not be surprised if there are some adjustments and compromises during seat-sharing. These things will become clearer once the formal talks commence among the parties which are willing to be part of the grand alliance,� said another AIUDF leader.
While the Congress received 30.96 per cent of the total votes polled in the last Assembly polls, the AIUDF�s share of the popular votes was 13.05 per cent.
