Assam: Congress-alliance candidates shifted to Jaipur

New Delhi: Suspecting horse-trading before results of Assam Assembly elections, the Congress and its alliance partner — the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) — have on Friday shifted over 20 candidates to Rajasthan as the Congress-AIUDF alliance is eyeing a comeback in Assam, where it fought a tightly contested Assembly election.

The Assam Assembly election's third and final phase of polling was on April 6 and election results will be announced on May 2. The Congress has shifted its candidates to the Fairmont Hotel in Jaipur to safeguard them from horse-trading. Notably, Congress has its government in Rajasthan. As per party leaders, Congress chief whip in Rajasthan Mahesh Joshi and party legislator Rafeek Khan have been given the responsibility to ensure that the Assam Assembly election contestants are not approached by unknown persons during their stay in the five-star hotel in Rajasthan.

According to party insiders, 15 candidates of the AIUDF headed by Lok Sabha MP from Dhubri Badruddin Ajmal have also been shifted along with the Congress candidates from Assam to Rajasthan.

The AIUDF candidates, who have been moved to Rajasthan, are Samsul Huda, Hafiz Bashir Ahmed, Minakshi Rahman, Nijanur Rahman, Phanidhar Talukdar, Rajib Ahmed, Aminul Islam, Hafiz Rafiqul Islam, Suzam Uddin Laskar, Nizamuddin Choudhury, Nazrul Hoque, Aminul Islam, Ashraful Hussain and Karim Uddin Barbhuiya.

Confirming the development, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "It's now a trend since the BJP tries to break the Congress after losing elections. So they (allies) want to take guard."