All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) Founder President and Veteran Leader Badruddin Ajmal, who is contesting the 2026 Assam Assembly elections from the newly carved Binakandi constituency in Hojai district, was leading with 89,452 votes, ahead by 27,967 votes, while Assam Jatiya Parishad’s Rijul Karim Chowdhury was trailing by 61,485 votes. Shahabuddin Majumdar of Asom Gana Parishad came third with 14,660 votes, trailing by 74,792 votes.
A three-time former Member of Parliament and a popular Islamic cleric, Ajmal is leading the AIUDDF as an independent force this session, aiming to re-establish his political dominance after the setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Read also: AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal is looking to regain support in Binakandi in the 2026 Assam Assembly elections
Ajmal’s 2026 campaign has been positioned as a decisive “return” to state politics. Returning to the Hojai belt, which includes parts of his family’s traditional heartland, he portrayed the election as a battle to protect the “political identity” of Assam’s minorities. During the election campaign, Ajmal was vocal about the implications of the 2023 demarcation process and promised to fight the “arbitrary targeting” of minority communities while focusing on the economic revival of flood-prone areas in lower and central Assam.
early life
Badruddin Ajmal was born on February 12, 1950 in Hojai, the son of the late Haji Ajmal Ali, who transformed a humble background in rice farming into Ajmal’s global perfume empire. Ajmal is a highly respected scholar, holding a master’s degree in theology and Arabic from Dar Al Uloom Deoband. Away from politics, he is a pioneering philanthropist, serving as CEO of the Ajmal Foundation, which runs 25 educational institutions and several hospitals, including the famous Haji Abdul Majeed Memorial Hospital in Hojai. He also serves as the State President of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Assam.
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Around Banakandi Circle
The Penkendi constituency was carved out from the old Jamunamukh segment during the delimitation in 2023. It is a high-stakes seat with over 2.6 lakh voters, and lies in the heart of the Ajmal family’s sphere of influence. In his 2026 affidavit, Ajmal declared total assets worth approx $226.31 crore, a big jump from his earlier statements, making him once again the richest candidate in the state.
For the 2026 elections, Ajmal faces a direct challenge from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which fielded Shahabuddin Majumdar under the NDA banner. Ajmal’s campaign focused on the “Hojai Model” of development, with an emphasis on education and promoting the agarwood industry as a primary source of rural income. If elected, he promised to establish a specialized university for Islamic and modern studies in the region.
What happened in the previous elections?
While the AIUDF won 16 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections as part of the ‘grand alliance’, the 2026 session sees Ajmal fighting solo after being excluded from the Congress-led Asom Sunmilitu Morcha. This election is personal for Ajmal, who lost his long-held Dhubri Lok Sabha seat in 2024 to Congress MP Rakibul Hossain.
Read also: Assam polls: AIUDF led by Badruddin Ajmal emerges as a new alternative?
Before his defeat in 2024, Ajmal had been a three-term MP (2009-2024) and had made his parliamentary debut in 2006 by winning two seats (South Salmara and Jamunamukh) simultaneously. His return to the Assembly fray in Binakandi is seen as a strategic move to secure a legislative foothold and ensure that the AIUDF remains a factor in the power dynamics at the state level. Polling in Bankandi concluded on April 9, 2026, and Ajmal expected his party to hold the “key to Dispur” after the May 4 results.
