Fragrance fades for AIUDF's Badruddin Ajmal

Badruddin Ajmal's AIUDF has seen a dramatic decline in Assam. The party, once a major force for Muslim minorities, now holds only two Assembly seats. This electoral rout signifies a significant shift in the state's political landscape. Minority votes have largely moved to the Congress party.

The political scent surrounding Badruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF has all but evaporated in Assam.

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Once the principal political voice of Muslim minorities in the state, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has suffered a crushing collapse, shrinking from 16 Assembly seats to just two in an election that redrew Assam’s political landscape and further cemented the BJP’s dominance.

Also Read: Fear, alienation among Miya Muslims in Assam under Himanta Biswa Sarma govt: AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal

The scale of the rout is particularly striking given Ajmal’s stature beyond politics. The 70-year-old businessman heads the globally recognised Ajmal Perfumes empire, a brand synonymous with oud and fragrances across West Asia and South Asia. But the electoral appeal that once powered his party through minority-dominated belts of Assam appears to have dissipated rapidly.

Ajmal himself returned to the electoral arena after losing the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat in 2024 and managed to win from Binnakandi in Hojai district. The party’s only other victory came from Dalgaon, retained by Mazibur Rahman.

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Everywhere else, the AIUDF’s support base crumbled.

Despite turnout crossing 90% in several Muslim-majority constituencies across lower Assam and the Barak Valley, the party failed to convert mobilisation into votes. Instead, minority consolidation overwhelmingly shifted toward the Congress, which swept through many of these seats.

Also Read: Assam election: AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal says Miyas will dominate post-election, sparks row

Constituencies with Muslim electorates above 95% — including Dhubri, Gauripur, Mankachar, Jaleswar, Chenga and Samaguri — swung decisively in Congress’ favour, leaving the AIUDF politically stranded.

Political analyst Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury said the party’s decline reflected growing dissatisfaction with its leadership structure and political messaging.

“Ajmal could have projected someone else. A man who cannot walk properly became a candidate. It signals they want to keep the party confined to family,” he said.

Within the AIUDF, leaders privately acknowledged that candidate selection hurt the party badly. Several functionaries also pointed to the absence of an alliance with Congress — unlike in 2021 — which turned many contests into direct fights between opposition parties and split anti-BJP votes.

Mazibur Rahman, one of the party’s two surviving MLAs, described the result as part of a wider opposition collapse.

“We thought Gaurav Gogoi would become the CM, but he lost. It’s painful,” he said, attributing his own victory to local development work.

Founded in 2005 after the Supreme Court struck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, the AIUDF built its political identity around representing Bengali-speaking Muslims, particularly in lower Assam.

For years, Ajmal’s influence extended far beyond his seat tally. Rivals frequently accused the BJP of using the AIUDF as a political foil to consolidate Hindu votes, while Congress struggled to reclaim minority support from the party.

This election may have fundamentally altered that equation.