All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief and Binnakandi MLA, Badruddin Ajmal, has claimed that Congress leader Debabrata Saikia will be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha bypolls in Nagaon on a BJP ticket. Debabrata Saikia is the son of former Assam CM Hiteswar Saikia, who lost the assembly elections from the Nazira seat.
Addressing the media, Ajmal claimed that the BJP has already begun preparations for the Lok Sabha bypolls and is planning to field Saikia. “Even though the by-election is some time away, the BJP has already started brainstorming and is likely to field Debabrata Saikia from Nagaon,” he said.
The Nagaon Lok Sabha seat was vacated after two-time Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP. He contested from the Dispur assembly constituency seat in the recent assembly elections and won.
Notably, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said several times in the past that Debabrata Saikia will eventually join the BJP, and he has not done so yet because his mother prevented him. Sarma has said that all Hindu Congress leaders, except Gaurav Gogoi, are welcome into the BJP. However, Debabrata Saikia has denied the CM’s claims.
Regarding the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Ajmal said the decision would depend on the Speaker. He said that Congress should appoint Joyprakash Das as the Leader of Opposition or else “Congress will turn into a Muslim League.” Joyprakash Das is the only Hindu among the 19 Congress MLAs, and the remaining 18 are Muslims.
Ajmal said that his party will strongly oppose the Uniform Civil Code in the assembly. Notably, Ajmal will remain absent from the first session of the 16th Assam Assembly as he will be undertaking a pilgrimage to Hajj.
