GUWAHATI

Assam Congress president and Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday (September 20, 2026) said All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal was Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s “108”.

The number refers to the Emergency Response Service, a toll-free 24/7 helpline in the country, primarily for ambulances.

Addressing a party rally in Nagaon district’s Dhing for the Nagaon parliamentary by-election, Mr. Gogoi alleged a “secret alliance” between the two main leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the AIUDF, respectively, in Assam.

The election to the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat is scheduled for October 6. The bypoll became necessary after Pradyut Bordoloi, who won the constituency for the second time in 2024, quit Congress and joined the BJP. He contested and won the Dispur Assembly seat for the BJP in April 2026.

“Badruddin Ajmal is contesting the Nagaon seat to benefit the BJP. He is Himanta Biswa Sarma’s 108,” Mr. Gogoi said while campaigning for Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora.

Mr. Gogoi further said the AIUDF had a different candidate in mind for the Nagaon constituency. However, its chief nominated himself after finding out that the Congress had fielded a strong candidate in Ms. Bora.

He indicated Ajmal’s candidature was part of the BJP’s strategy to counter Congress in minority-dominated constituencies like Nagaon.

The Nagaon by-election is expected to witness a three-cornered contest involving Congress’s Ms. Bora, the BJP’s bureaucrat-turned-politician Devasish Sharma, and the AIUDF’s Mr. Ajmal.

The other candidates are Inamul Huda of the Revolutionary Communist Party of India (Rashik Bhatt), Barnali Sharma of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), Hafiz Burhanuddin of the National Road Map Party of India, and nine independents.

The Assam Trinamool Congress nominated academic Abdul Salam, but withdrew his candidature after the Election Commission of India froze the party name and symbol.