Voting for Ajmal, Hussain is like 'expecting milk from male cow': Assam CM

Guwahati, May 3 (IANS) During campaigning in Dhubri, a Muslim-majority Lok Sabha constituency in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday came down heavily on sitting All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MP Badruddin Ajmal and Congress nominee Rakibul Hussain.Voting for Ajmal and Hussain will be like "expecting milk from a male cow", the Chief Minister said.He claimed that a triangular contest will take place between the candidates of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), AIUDF and Congress in the third phase of general elections on May 7.Speaking at public events in Golakganj, Bilasipara, and Gauripur, Chief Minister Sarma affirmed that AGP, the BJP's ally, is gaining support in regions where they were previously lacking any influence among the people.At a public meeting in Golakganj, he said, "People have realised that Ajmal's time in Dhubri is over, and they don't need Rakibul," emphasising a decline in support for the AIUDF and Congress in the area.With 13 candidates and more than 2.6 million voters, the political race is mostly between AIUDF's Badruddin Ajmal, Congress' Rakibul Hussain, and AGP's Javed Islam.CM Sarma took a jibe at Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her "Mafia raj'' remark.He said, "Priyanka Gandhi has not seen the mafia raj days during the Congress rule. Today there is no bomb blast, no bullet firing, no ULFA, no NDFB in the state, there was only mafia raj of Rokibul Hussain."The Chief Minister also asserted that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi have no support among the people of Assam.Reacting to Sarma's statement, Congress candidate Rakibul Hussain criticised the Assam Chief Minister, saying he had changed his stance following the first phase of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.Hussain claimed that Sarma's newfound interest in Dhubri arose from his recognition that the BJP was not receiving enough support from other communities.--IANStdr/khz

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