Badruddin Ajmal. Image for the purpose of representation only.
| Photo Credit: File
GUWAHATI
Former MP and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal on Sunday (January 25, 2026) said Muslims in the country were safer than ever before because Hindus stood with them.
He dismissed narratives about a sense of insecurity among Muslims and played down Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s remarks against Miyas, but urged members of the minority community to unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Miya is a pejorative term for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, often perceived to be Bangladeshis.
“Let him [Chief Minister] keep shouting miya-miya. Such ranting will not affect the resolve of the community,” Mr. Ajmal told journalists in Guwahati.
He insisted that such miya-bashing did not reflect the status of Muslims in India. “The community is safer than ever before across the country. Muslims have nothing to fear, as our Hindu brothers stand with them,” he said.
Mr. Ajmal advised Muslims in Assam not to extend electoral support to the BJP in the upcoming elections. “Not a single Muslim should vote for the BJP. If anyone does, it will be a misfortune for our community,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that dislodging the BJP would be an uphill task because of a “tacit understanding” between the party and the Congress.
Mr. Ajmal said the AIUDF was ready to withdraw from contesting the upcoming election if it would help the Congress win. “But Congress wants the BJP to be back in power. It is giving the BJP a 100% walkover,” he said.
“I doubt if Congress can manage to win 23 seats [out of 126 in Assam]. It will not be in a position to form the government,” he said, accusing the Congress of “playing a dirty game” with the minorities.
The AIUDF and the Congress have been battling for a share of votes in Muslim-dominated Assembly constituencies since the 2006 Assembly election.
Published – January 25, 2026 05:59 pm IST
