Ashraful Hussain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Assam Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 21 May 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Sukur Ali Ahmed |
| Constituency | Chenga |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 January 1994 (age 30) Haripur, Barpeta District, Assam |
| Political party | All India United Democratic Front |
| Alma mater | Indira Gandhi National Open University |
| Profession | Journalist, Social worker, Poet |
Ashraful Hussain (born 10 January 1994) is an Indian politician who is serving as a Member of Assam Legislative Assembly representing the All India United Democratic Front from the Chenga Assembly constituency in the 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election.[1][2][3][4][5]
He is the youngest Member of the Legislative Assembly (India) of Assam Legislative Assembly (2021) aged 27, hailing from Chenga (Vidhan Sabha constituency) of lower Assam.[6] He has contested from All India United Democratic Front ticket and was elected with a margin of more than 50,000 votes. His father is a small farmer and shopkeeper.[7] He comes from a family with no political background. He emerged as a strong voice in the Chenga (Vidhan Sabha constituency) in Assam 2021 Election for the rights of D voter and National Register of Citizens (NRC). He graduated from Indira Gandhi National Open University with a bachelor's degree in social work (BSW). He was a journalist in various news organisations like Pratidin Time etc. He was a member of the campaign called Karwan-e-Mohabbat. He was also a member of Sambidhan Sevak. He fought for the land rights of the displaced people from the flood erosion of Brahmaputra River. He was involved in various relief programmes in seasonal flood of Assam and during the COVID-19 lockdown in India.[8]
He was born in a Muslim family at Haripur village, Barpeta. His father was a small farmer and shopkeeper. His mother is a Anowara Khatun housewife. He passed his High School Leaving Certificate examinations from Tarabari Higher Secondary School. His senior secondary school was Ratnadip Junior College. He then earned a diploma in Jr. Engineering from CIPET, Guwahati. Later on he graduated from Indira Gandhi National Open University in Bachelor in Social Work.
From 2014 to 2016, he was employed in the corporate sector in Pune. He then came to Assam and started solving the problems of citizenship crisis, land pattas, poverty, flood erosion, etc. He also did freelance journaling in news organisations of the state.
He worked as a journalist and reported the killing of 40 children and women by Militants in an island of Baksa district. In 2017, he started traveling across the country with his colleagues and visited the homes of people bereaved by mob lynching and hate violence. The campaign was called as the Karwan-e-Mohabbat or Caravan of Love. The journey of the Karwan began in Assam 2017, in a small village of Nagaon in which two young boys were killed by mob lynching. He then travelled to Jharkhand, Delhi, Mewat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka. The Karwan continued its journeys for three years, until the COVID-19 lockdown in India.
He was a member of Sambidhan Sevak, an initiative started by Harsh Mander (social worker and author) to spread awareness about the Indian constitution among the people in lower Assam. During the 2019 floods, Ashraful and members from the Sambidhan Sevak worked to distribute relief in many villages in the Barpeta district. He also joined Satra Mukti Sangram Samiti (SMSS).
When the process of National Register of Citizens began in Assam by the order of Supreme Court, he helped illiterate people along with his colleagues in filling National Register of Citizens forms and assisted them in travelling long distances at the time of hearing. They called themselves as Samvidhan Saathis or Friends of the Constitution.
He also worked for the land rights of the people of Chenga. He served the people who are affected by the floods of Brahmaputra river and volunteered the displaced people from the flood erosion. He channelised reliefs from various sources and organisations and aided things for the people during the COVID-19 lockdown in India in Barpeta district of Assam. He volunteered in the distribution of amenities like masks, sanitizers, food, medicines and sanitary pads.
In 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election, Ashraful's party AIUDF was in alliance with Congress, Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and CPI-M named Mahajut. Mahajut lost against Mitrojut of BJP.
He defeated the incumbent Sukur Ali Ahmed who was a four times elected legislator of Chenga and served as a minister in the Tarun Gogoi-led state government. Sukur Ali of Indian National Congress (INC) got 23357 votes and Rabiul Hussain of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) got 23373 votes. Ashraful Hussain got 75312 votes and won with a margin of 51939 votes. He secured 58.83% of the votes and became the youngest legislator of Assam Legislative Assembly 2021.
Ashraful Hussain married Rehna Sultana on 27 May 2021. Sultana is an assistant professor at Sibsagar Girls' College.[citation needed]