GUWAHATI: Badruddin Ajmal is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) from Assam’s Dhubri constituency. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Ajmal received 5,92,569 votes while his nearest rival from the Indian National Congress, Wazed Ali Choudhury polled 3,62,839 votes.
Perfume baron Maulana Badruddin Ajmal is one of the richest politicians in India and one of the most influential Muslims in the world. He was featured in the 2015-16 list of World's 500 Most Influential Muslims published by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan.
Ajmal first stepped into politics in Assam by forming United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1996 which was later changed to All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). He contested from South Salmara assembly constituency of Dhubri district in 2006 and defeated Congress heavyweight and former Minister Wazed Ali Choudhury by a huge margin of votes.
Ajmal then contested from Dhubri Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and 2014 and on both the occasions, he won by a thumping margin of votes by defeating Congress candidates.
In 2006 election for Assam Legislative Assembly, he was elected simultaneously from two constituencies — South Salmara and Jamunamukh — by a large margin of votes, and was also elected as the leader of the AIUDF Legislative Party.
In the last 10 years, ever since it started contesting elections, the AIUDF has held the Dhubri Vidhan Sabha seat as well as most surrounding constituencies. In 2006, it won 10 assembly seats. In 2011, it won 18, making it the most significant opposition party in Assam.
For the Lok Sabha polls 2019, Dhubri has been one of the most talked about constituencies of Assam with 15 candidates contesting for the seat. The constituency comprises 10 assembly segments, namely Mankachar, Salmara South, Dhubri, Gauripur, Golakganj, Bilasipara West, Bilasipara East, Goalpara East, Goalpara West and Jaleswar. With Ajmal gearing up for the polls, he is sure to be judged on his performance in the past five years.
Dhubri MP records low attendance in Lok Sabha
According to the data published by PRS Legislative Research, Dhubri MP Badruddin Saikia recorded a mere 58% attendance in his second term in the Lok Sabha. It is to be noted that the national average attendance of MPs in the Lok Sabha stands at 80% while the state average stands at 74%.
Ajmal, who started his tenure with 83% attendance in the first session, slipped to 67% and 77% in the Budget Session and Winter Session 2014 respectively.
However, his attendance fell drastically thereafter. Ajmal recorded 41% attendance in the Monsoon Session 2015 and 40% in Winter Session 2015. The lowest was in Budget Session 2016 (P.1) when Ajmal recorded only 13% attendance.
In the last Lok Sabha session - Budget Session 2019 - he recorded a mere 40% attendance.
It must be noted that while Ajmal has recorded a low performance in terms of sessions attended, he has shown improvement from his first term in the Lok Sabha when he recorded 49% attendance only.
Ajmal showcases below average performance in terms of debates attended, private member’s bills raised
While the national average number of debates attended by an MP has been calculated at 67.1 debates per MP and the state average is calculated at 46.6 debates per MP, Ajmal has been present at 66 debates only.
He has attended debates pertaining to issues relevant to Assam like Discussion on the situation arising out of reported incidents of atrocities and lynching in mob violence in the country, Regarding the issue of preparation of NRC in Assam, Need to start construction of Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge over river Brahmaputra, Need to fix remunerative price of Jute and establish jute mills in Dhubri district of Assam, and Flood and drought situation in the country. He has also attended debates surrounding the Muslim community like The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, Regarding growing insecurity and fear due to rising incidents of religious intolerance across the country, and Regarding several Muslims in Air Force and Army alleged force to shave their beards.
Additionally, in terms of the number of Private Member’s Bills raised by an individual MP, while the national average has been calculated at 2.3, and state average is at 0.8, Ajmal failed to raise a Bill in his two-term tenure in the Parliament.
Ajmal fared well in terms of the total number of questions raised
Among the number of questions raised by an MP, Ajmal surpassed both the national as well as state average. While the national average is at 293 questions and state average is at 164, Ajmal raised a whopping 404 questions pertaining to various issues.
The Dhubri MP has asked a slew of questions pertaining to matters of state and national importance. Among the various issues on which he has raised questions are - Difficulties of Haj Pilgrims, Pending Court Cases against Foreigners, Tea Plantation Workers, Reduction of Poverty, Ethnic Violence in Assam, Welfare Schemes for Disabled, Black Money, Projects in Northeastern States, Shortage of Drinking Water, Environmental Pollution, Lack of Toilet Facilities, and Crime against Women and Children.
The last question raised by Ajmal was on February 13, 2019. The question, raised to the Statistics and Programme Implementation Ministry, was related to the data on Sustainable Development Goals.
Incumbent MP has 7 criminal cases registered against him, all remain pending
There are a total of seven criminal cases registered against AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal in the state. While six of the cases have been registered at Dispur, Baghbar, Nagaon, Dhubri, Pulibor and Kokrajhar police stations, a case has also been registered in the court of Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC) in Nagaon.
The first case was registered in 2012 at Kokrajhar police station under sections 120B/153A/109 of the Indian Penal Code. The complainant alleged in the FIR that Badruddin Ajmal delivered provocative speeches in BTAD area instigating Muslims to retaliate against Bodos.
Similarly, the second case filed in 2015 at Pulibor police station under sections 295A/298 of the Indian Penal Code also alleged that Badruddin Ajmal outraged religious feelings of Hindus by making a statement that whether PM Modi eats beef while in Pakistan.
In another case registered at Baghbar police station under sections 120B/153/153A/294/294A of the Indian Penal Code states that Badruddin Ajmal called upon the Muslim community to be united against the Hindus in a meeting at Baghbar.
The most recent case filed against Ajmal was in 2018 at the Dispur police station. The complainant alleged that Badruddin Ajmal indulged in verbal abuse, used foul words and threatened to kill a journalist during a media interaction at Mankachar in Dhubri district.
However, all of the cases are still pending and he hasn't been convicted for any criminal offence.
