GUWAHATI: The panchayat elections threw up a surprise for perfume baron-turned politician Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) with its vote share in minority areas in lower Assam and the Barak valley districts dipping. The party seems to have lost out to Congress and AGP in its very own bastion In the 2013 panchayat polls, AIUDF was in the second position winning 76 of the total 420 zila parishads (ZP). Congress was in the lead with 273 ZPs in its fold, while AGP had 29 and BJP 15 in 2013. This time, of the 347 declared ZP seats on Friday, AIUDF is in the distant third position with 15 seats, though party leaders said they are hopeful of winning 25 ZPs as counting is still on.In Dhubri (South) district, which happens to part of the Lok Sabha seat represented by Ajmal, AIUDF won only two out of 17 ZP seats there so far. Likewise, in Mankachar—also in Dhubri district—AIUDF has drawn a blank so far. From central Assam to lower Assam districts and in some districts in northern Assam, it is Congress which has won the ZPs in the minority-dominated areas. Also, in the panchayat wards, panchayat president posts and anchalik panchayat member posts in minority areas, it is Congress taking the lead followed by AGP and in some places BJP has emerged as the front runner.“We will have to seriously introspect why we could not do well, especially in minority-dominated areas,” AIUDF general secretary, Haidor Hussain Bora, said.Bora, however, mentioned that they had not fielded candidates in many minority areas to ensure “secular votes” did not get divided. “We did not field candidates in many of the minority-dominated areas to prevent division of votes. In many places under Rupahihat, Dhing, Lahorighat and other assembly constituencies, where minority voters play a decisive role, AIUDF did not have candidates,” Bora said.He ruled out that the outcome of the panchayat polls will hamper AIUDF’s prospects in the Lok Sabha polls. “The panchayat polls and Lok Sabha elections are different ball games altogether. Panchayat poll results are determined by issues at the micro level. A parliamentary seat encompasses larger areas with a wider spectrum of issues,” Bora argued.

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