Guwahati, Nov 4 (IANS): Badruddin Ajmal, the chief of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) urged voters on Monday to vote for a secular candidate in the upcoming by-elections in the state.

AIUDF has refrained from fielding candidates for the by-polls in the five constituencies in the state.

Ajmal told reporters here, “We are not contesting the by-elections and our party will concentrate on the panchayat polls which are due for a long time in Assam. In this situation, I appeal to voters of five Assembly constituencies where by-polls will take place to cast their vote in favour of a secular candidate.”

The AIUDF leader also mentioned that he did not field any candidate in Samaguri Assembly seat to help ‘nephew’ Tanzil Hussain.

Notably, Tanzil Hussain is son of Congress MP and former minister Rakibul Hussain.

Ajmal was defeated by Rakibul Hussain by more than 10 lakh votes in AIUDF bastion Dhubri—a seat he represented in the lower house of the parliament for 15 years.

The AIUDF leadership earlier announced that they would field a candidate in Samaguri Assembly seat; however, later, they changed their decision and the party announced that they decided to stay out of the by-elections.

Ajmal said, “If we field candidates in any of the five seats which are going into by-polls, the BJP will get an advantage. We do not want to give the ruling party an edge in this election. AIUDF’s motive is to put a brake on BJP’s winning spree and that is why we have decided not to contest polls.”

Hussain was an MLA in the Samaguri Assembly constituency for a long time and the Congress party fielded him in the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat to take on Ajmal.

Following his election to Lok Sabha, his Assembly seat in Samaguri fell vacant and the by-poll became imminent there.

Ajmal said, “I might have differences with Rakibul Hussain in Dhubri but I have no animosity with his son. I wish him good luck and I desire that he must be chosen as an MLA from Samaguri in the by-polls. He has come to my house for blessings.”

On the other hand, BJP has been eyeing to oust Congress from Samaguri this time. The ruling party has thrown its top leaders into the campaign for the by-elections.