GUWAHATI, May 19 - Among the biggest upsets in the Assembly polls, the loss of AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal at the hands of Wazed Ali Choudhury (Congress) in South Salmara constituency has sent shockwaves in the AIUDF.
The AIUDF also fared worse this time, winning just 13 seats, compared to 18 it had secured in the 2011 Assembly polls.
Ajmal, who emerged as a big name in the State�s politics by propelling his party into the position of the main Opposition party within a short time, could get only 63,343 votes as against Wazed Ali Choudhury�s 80,066 votes, losing in the process by a margin of 16,723 votes.
Political observers feel Ajmal�s loss, together with the slump the AIUDF suffered in this Assembly polls, has implications for the party�s long-term prospects in the State. It could indicate a waning acceptance of the party among the State�s immigrant Muslim population that constitutes the bulk of the party�s vote base. The Assembly poll results have shown that a substantial portion of the AIUDF�s votes have shifted towards the Congress.
The rise of the AIUDF coincided with the repeal of the IMDT Act, with the immigrant Muslim population reposing its trust in the party out of their insecurity following the scrapping of the IMDT Act.
