Guwahati, Nov 25 (IANS): All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Badruddin Ajmal on Monday said that he is “depressed” due to the loss of Congress candidate Tanzil Hussain in the by-election in the Samaguri Assembly seat.

“I am depressed at the loss of Tanzil Hussain in the Samaguri bypolls. He is my nephew and I chose not to field a candidate in Samaguri to help him in his first election. I expected that he would easily win this seat but unfortunately, he lost to the BJP,” Ajmal told media persons.

He added: “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 get elected as an MLA from the Samaguri seat.”

He said AIUDF will not contest the by-elections and the party will concentrate on the upcoming panchayat polls.

“I appeal to all voters to cast their vote in favour of a secular candidate. We do not want to give the ruling party an edge during panchayat polls. AIUDF’s motive is to put a brake on BJP’s winning spree,” he said.

BJP’s Diplu Ranjan Sarmah defeated Tanzil Hussain, son of Congress MP and former minister Rakibul Hussain by a margin of 24,501 votes.

Ajmal was defeated in the general election 2024 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.

Hussain was an MLA in the Samaguri Assembly constituency since 2001 and the Congress party fielded him in the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat to take on Ajmal in this year’s general election.

Following his election to the Lok Sabha, his assembly seat the Samaguri fell vacant and the bypolls became imminent.

Congress gave a ticket to Rakibul Hussain’s son Tanzil Hussain here.

The AIUDF leadership initially announced that they would field a candidate in the Samaguri Assembly seat, however, later they announced to stay out of the by-elections.