GUWAHATI, Nov 30 - The leadership of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has got in touch with the Congress party�s high command to secure the formal approval for formation of the proposed opposition �grand alliance� for the 2021 Assam Assembly polls.
Meanwhile, taking the bonhomie forward, senior leaders of Congress and AIUDF will hold a series of joint election rallies from December 2 at various places in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) for the forthcoming polls to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).
�Things are moving in a positive direction. All prospective constituents have shown commitment to be part of the grand alliance. The need of the hour is to have a joint fight against the BJP-led NDA and the momentum is towards it,� a senior AIUDF office-bearer told this newspaper on Monday.
When pointed out that the State unit of the Congress has left the final decision regarding the proposed grand alliance to the Congress Working Committee, he said, �That is the norm. It is the central leadership of any political party which takes the final decision regarding alliances for the Lok Sabha or Assembly polls. In our case also, it was the AIUDF core committee which took the decision to reciprocate the initial feelers sent out by the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). Anyway, our top leadership is in touch with the Congress high command and we expect a formal green signal from their side soon.�
Asked if the demise of former Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Tarun Gogoi would hamper the effort to cobble together the grand alliance, AIUDF leaders discounted such a possibility.
�Firstly, although Tarun Gogoi was the main proponent of the alliance, the idea for a joint fight against the BJP has been broadly agreed to by the Congress� State unit. Secondly, alliances are formed among two or more parties and not between individuals. Thirdly, after Gogoi�s demise, other senior Congress leaders have reposed their faith in the necessity of having a joint fight against the BJP. So alliance is hundred per cent sure,� said another senior AIUDF leader.
Meanwhile, the Congress and the AIUDF are getting ready to intensify their joint campaign for the BTC polls.
�There will be a series of joint public meetings at various places on December 2, 4 and 6. Choppers have been booked for ferrying our party president Badruddin Ajmal and senior State Congress leaders to different places in the BTR. They will hold joint public rallies and canvass for the candidates of the two parties,� said the AIUDF leader.
The Congress and AIUDF have an alliance for the BTC elections. As part of the seat-sharing arrangement, the Congress is contesting from 13 seats of the BTC, while the AIUDF has fielded its own nominees from six constituencies.